I love cooking curries – especially for Mrs Romance. Over the next few Wednesdays I’ll be telling you how I cook my favourite Indian dishes in our curry series. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

If you tell someone in the UK that you’re having a vindaloo for dinner, they’ll probably think you’ve gone mad or that you’re incredibly drunk. Second only the mighty phaal, the vindaloo is recognised as the hottest dish you can get in an Indian restaurant.

In Australia on the other hand, the heat of the vindaloo isn’t quite as intense and so the flavours are more developed… or perhaps they’re just easier to distinguish from behind the overpowering heat of a UK vinda.

I like to make my vindaloo in our favourite clay slow-cook crockpot. Cooking this curry for a long time means the meat is very tender – almost like a ragu by the end. Because of this, you don’t need to worry about the cut of meat you use.

5-Hour Slow-Cooked Beef Vindaloo

Serves 8 – takes about 5hrs 30min

Here’s what you need:

• 500g beef cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 3tbs Monika vindaloo curry paste
• 2-3 waxy potatoes – cubed
• 1 large brown onion – sliced thickly
• 1 tomato – chopped
• 2 garlic cloves – finely chopped
• 1 red capsicum – cubed
• 1tbs coriander seeds
• 1tbs cumin seeds
• 3-4 cardamom pods
• 2tbs white vinegar
• 1tbs oil/ghee – I used coconut oil

Here’s what you do:

1. Pre-heat the oven to about 150°C/300°F/Gas mark 2-3.
2. Toast the coriander and half the cumin seeds in a pan until aromatic, then grind them into powder with a pestle and mortar.
3. Add the oil to a pan and heat then add the ground spices and the rest of the cumin seeds to the oil until the seeds begin to sizzle then add the onion and garlic.
4. Seal the beef in the pan – add a little of the vindaloo paste if you want.
5. Pour everything into a slow cook pot. We’ve got a potbellied earthenware pot but a casserole dish or anything that’s ovenproof with a lid will do.
6. Add the rest of the ingredients (tin of tomatoes, vindaloo paste, potatoes, tomatoes, cardamom and vinegar) and stir thoroughly. The sauce will reduce so add some water if you like.
7. Check after a couple of hours. After 5 hours, turn off the oven. The beef should be incredibly tender and the potatoes should squash easily under a spoon.
8. Serve straight away or leave and reheat later.

This curry refrigerates and freezes well, so if you’re not cooking for 8-10 people, don’t worry.

The heat of this curry is mild by English standards, so if you want that sock-blowing-off experience, add a chilli or two to the mix before you add everything to the oven pot. Monika curry pastes are all gluten free.

What’s your favourite curry? Have you tried an English vindaloo?

Images by Mr Romance.