slow cooker quick questions thread

BallandChain

Hey people! Thank you for all your comments and some recipes to maybe try when I get more daring. I'm really boring (playing it safe!) and went a bought a couple of jars of Balti curry sauce. Now it says on the jar that the curry sauce is not suitable for freezing. Why is that? I can buy ready made frozen curries and it looks like it's got the same ingredients.

Zippy, I can feel your enthusiasm from here, lol! Thanks for the links. I've got my curry sauces, chicken needs to defrost and I still have to buy some chilli powder as OH thinks the sauce won't be hot enough. I'll get the chilli powder tomorrow and probably will cook this on Friday. I feel quite nervous! I'm doing the curry first and next week I will do veg and chicken. Sorry, didn't want to confuse you.

I'm just concerned that the cooker (it's 5.5 litre) won't be filled up sufficiently as I got two large jars of sauce but will only end up using one at a time now it says you can't freeze the sauce. (Wish I'd checked that when in the store.) Which of course means using less chicken than I had intended.

How much chilli powder do I put in? OH likes it quite hot (vindaloo hot if you know what I mean). I should have mentioned I've never cooked a curry before in the conventional way so this is all new to me.

emilyka

BallandChain wrote: »

Hey people! Thank you for all your comments and some recipes to maybe try when I get more daring. I'm really boring (playing it safe!) and went a bought a couple of jars of Balti curry sauce. Now it says on the jar that the curry sauce is not suitable for freezing. Why is that? I can buy ready made frozen curries and it looks like it's got the same ingredients.

Zippy, I can feel your enthusiasm from here, lol! Thanks for the links. I've got my curry sauces, chicken needs to defrost and I still have to buy some chilli powder as OH thinks the sauce won't be hot enough. I'll get the chilli powder tomorrow and probably will cook this on Friday. I feel quite nervous! I'm doing the curry first and next week I will do veg and chicken. Sorry, didn't want to confuse you.

I'm just concerned that the cooker (it's 5.5 litre) won't be filled up sufficiently as I got two large jars of sauce but will only end up using one at a time now it says you can't freeze the sauce. (Wish I'd checked that when in the store.) Which of course means using less chicken than I had intended.

How much chilli powder do I put in? OH likes it quite hot (vindaloo hot if you know what I mean). I should have mentioned I've never cooked a curry before in the conventional way so this is all new to me.

A teaspoon (maybe two if brave!) of chili powder should be fine, if you got cayenne pepper maybe a little less! I wouldnt worry about freezing the curry- it'll be fine, I think it's mainly refering to freezing the jar. There isnt anything in a curry sauce that shouldnt freeze, just make sure you eat it within 3 months of freezing

zippychick

BallandChain wrote: »

Hey people! Thank you for all your comments and some recipes to maybe try when I get more daring. I'm really boring (playing it safe!) and went a bought a couple of jars of Balti curry sauce. Now it says on the jar that the curry sauce is not suitable for freezing. Why is that? I can buy ready made frozen curries and it looks like it's got the same ingredients.

Zippy, I can feel your enthusiasm from here, lol! Thanks for the links. I've got my curry sauces, chicken needs to defrost and I still have to buy some chilli powder as OH thinks the sauce won't be hot enough. I'll get the chilli powder tomorrow and probably will cook this on Friday. I feel quite nervous! I'm doing the curry first and next week I will do veg and chicken. Sorry, didn't want to confuse you.

I'm just concerned that the cooker (it's 5.5 litre) won't be filled up sufficiently as I got two large jars of sauce but will only end up using one at a time now it says you can't freeze the sauce. (Wish I'd checked that when in the store.) Which of course means using less chicken than I had intended.

How much chilli powder do I put in? OH likes it quite hot (vindaloo hot if you know what I mean). I should have mentioned I've never cooked a curry before in the conventional way so this is all new to me.

I am really excited for you , so it's genuine enthusiasm! :rotfl:

Regards the sauce - hmmmmmmm. I do remember a conversation about this some time ago on OS about pataks paste (wish I could remember the outcome? Anyone? ). To be sure, the only thing you could really do is email the company who produced the sauce... Personally i would just freeze it but if you are in anyway unsure, do check to reassure yourself.

Personally I would just go ahead and cook the quantity intended and don't worry about freezing the sauce, but again that's up to you.

Don't worry about the quantity either. I have a 6.5L Slow cooker, and i live alone, so i cook small portions in it too. Don't worry! I would recommend you make it some day you are in the house and can keep an eye on the slow cooker. That way it's less scary (or for me it was anyway). It took me a while to feel safe putting it on overnight.

Now - what method does your jar recommend using to make the curry?

Here's what I would do (at a guess of how to use the sauce) .

Turn the slow cooker on low
Frying pan with a little oil. Remove skin from chicken and seal the chicken around a minute on each side or until the skin browns. Do in a hot ish pan. Remember, you're not trying to cook it, just colour it.:) Pop the chicken once browned in the SC

Using the same pan, fry some onions ( a couple chopped up?), and add what ever other veg you want to use. You could use small chunks of potato, carrot, sweetcorn, peas, peppers, really any veg! Chuck in the extra chilli powder, mix around, then throw the jar of sauce in. Bring to the boil. (when cutting veg cut the same size - small bitesize pieces)

Once the sauce is boiling, pour over the chicken in the SC, pop the lid on and leave for 6-8 hours.

The temptation will be there to stir it, but try to leave it for at least a few hours before doing so. The more times you lift the lid, the more heat escapes and it has to get back up to temperature again.

I would taste for flavouring after about 4 hours - with adding spices, you can't take them away if too spicy, but you can add more of course. Maybe add some salt and pepper. You can leave it in the SC for 6-8 hours, or possibly more if you want to , depending on how hot your SC is. It's not the kind of thing that dings and is done - it's very hard to overcook using the SC - I have done this twice and both times were on high.

That's it. It's as simple as that. I hope others also put their methods of what they would do as I'm only "winging it" and guessing

Don't panic - it's easy peasy lemon squeezy. You can also add some lentils if you wish. All i do is grab a handful from the pack and throw straight in as they are. No washing, prepping or fussing. You will see as cooking time progresses the lentils swell up all orange and round and bigger and taste soft so that's when you know they are cooked.

And if you have any other questions, just ask. Honestly, once you have done it, you will wonder what you worried about

Link you also may need

Slow cooker help to thicken

emilyka

Oooh, if you make it too spicy you could always add natural yogurt (same effect as a glass of milk if you get a mouth ful of spice!):D

zippychick

emilyka wrote: »

Oooh, if you make it too spicy you could always add natural yogurt (same effect as a glass of milk if you get a mouth ful of spice!):D

well prompted for another linky!

Chilli too hot (same principle mainly applies for which ever dish it is !):)

BallandChain

Thanks for all your help. I'll try not to worry! Ok, I had a look at sauce jar and it says:

For on the hob: heat oil in pan over medium heat, add diced chicken, brown for 4-5 mins, drain and pour over balti sauce and simmer for further 20 mins, reduce heat if necessary, ensure food is piping hot.

I checked the ingredients and was thinking do I need to add extra onions or anything else as the sauce has tomatoes, tomato puree, onion, chick peas, green pepper, red pepper, spinach and usual spices.

Also I think, I might be wrong, but wouldn't the ceramic pot crack if I put hot liquid straight into it? My instructions say not to put the slow cooker on when it's empty and I didn't want to crack the pot by chucking in the hot chicken/sauce.

lol, I've been going to bed thinking of this! I'm in all day tomorrow so I will be making an early start on browning chicken at 7am! (I just hope I can stomach it first thing in the morning, lol!)

I'll be on later to check for replies and thank you all once again. :A

BallandChain

Update:

It's been cooking since 7am (I got up earlier!) and should be cooked by 4pm. It smells lovely but the only thing I hope is that the sauce doesn't stick to the pot. I've been really good and not opened the lid. Couldn't get hold of chilli powder so substituted for curry powder instead so fingers crossed it's ok. Will update later!

emilyka

BallandChain wrote: »

Update:

It's been cooking since 7am (I got up earlier!) and should be cooked by 4pm. It smells lovely but the only thing I hope is that the sauce doesn't stick to the pot. I've been really good and not opened the lid. Couldn't get hold of chilli powder so substituted for curry powder instead so fingers crossed it's ok. Will update later!

Let us know! I've been a bit inspired by this thread, may have to do more slow cooking in the next few weeks.:j

BallandChain

Hi Emily. I'm feeling quietly optimistic as it didn't turn out too bad. I think you learn by trial and error. The sauce seemed to stick to the side of the pot (lol, I've just left it in to soak in warm water and washing up liquid.) I put one teaspoon of curry powder in but OH said it wasn't hot enough and I had mine later so added another teaspoon and it still wasn't hot enough, even for me.

I could smell burning at one point and the sauce had stuck to the pot so next time I think I will add water and maybe grease the side of the pot to be doubly sure it won't happen again. I read on here if there is too much water left at end of cooking just to leave the lid off and the food cooked on high until the water steams off.

I had put the rest of the curry in plastic containers for the freezer and what was left put on warm in slow cooker. Unfortunately it was a bit dry by the time I came to eat it so must remember to add water! The chicken was moist as I was careful not to over brown it first. The meat just fell off the bones, and despite the fact I thought I'd fished all the bones out some did remain. OH nearly choked, oops! I didn't come across one bone. (Think OH must be suspicious!)

Overall I feel for a first time it wasn't bad and at least I didn't burn the house down. I'm going to get hot chilli powder for next time, it is just unfortunate the shops I did go to didn't sell it. When it comes to reheating the frozen curry I'll add the chilli powder to give it some oomph. lol, I've even written a note on the sticky labels with the curry in to check for bones just in case!

zippychick

Hi Ballandchain

Can i just say congratulations! You now hopefully are over the fear of slow cookers! Sounds like you had a mixed bag of results, but you still did bloody well.

I've never used jar sauce in a slow cooker to be honest, but homemade sauce doesn't do that from my experience anyway

Would you be up to trying out a tried and tested recipe off here next time? Even if you read Pinks method a few posts back?

Just a thought.... that way you have more control over the liquid content as well . Did you have the slow cooker on low? (just wondering if it was too high hence why it stuck?)

To be honest you shouldn't need to grease the inside of the bowl - i've never read of anyone doing that.

*thinks*. Anyone else any suggestions or thoughts?:)