42 THE INDIAN AMERICAN January-February 2010

Have YouSlowCookedLately?

CUISINE

NEVER TOOK to the Crock-Pot – because as its namesuggests – I always thoughtof it as full of crock.”Purnima Renjen says. “So

no crock for me. Although I likemy curries simmered, I like to beright there, tasting its spice levelsas it bubbles.”

Renjen was answering thequestion I posed to my Indian-American friends: “Do you use aCrock-Pot in your kitchen?” Andshe was not alone in her thinking.

Meeti Shah replies, “I haven’theard of a Crock-Pot. I don’t knowanybody in New York who usesone.” Dolcy Dsouza was unfamil-iar with it, too, but was interestedin finding out more about thisstyle of cooking.

Most of the Indian Americans Ispoke with for my informal polldo not use a Crock-Pot. The mostwidely given response was:“What’s a Crock-Pot?”

Well, a Crock-Pot is the brandname of one of the most widelyused slow cookers. It was createdin 1970 as a bean cooker. In 1971,it was redesigned with a crockeryliner in a pot-like shape by theRival company with the nameCrock-Pot.

In the 1970s, the Crock-Potwas used in most homes acrossAmerica to make mostly beefstews and chili. It was the “must-give” wedding present and some-times couples wound up gettingsix of them.

I did find one Indian Americanwho loves the Crock-Pot – award-winning chef Raghavan Iyer,

author of “660 Curries,” “BettyCrocker’s Indian Home Cooking”and “The Turmeric Trail,” andrecipient of the prestigiousInternational Award for CulinaryProfessionals of Excellence (for-merly the Julia Child Award),among others.

Iyer thinks that Crock-Potscould be used for making Indianfood. “I have one at home andhave tested some of my recipes inmy ‘660 Curries’ cookbook usingthe Crock-Pot,” he says.

He uses his to tenderizetougher cuts of meats, allowingthem to simmer slowly. Some ofhis favorite Crock-Pot recipesinclude Boneless Pork Loin, Lambwith Fenugreek and RajasthaniChick Pea Dumplings.

Several people who respondedto my question were put off by theidea of slow cooking because ofthe word slow. Deepti ParekhShah, for instance, feels it will bea long time before she gets com-fortable with the idea of usingone. “Having grown up watchingmy mom prepare meals in a jiffy,the idea of slow cooking seemssomewhat alien,” she says.

Another Indian American whoagrees with her is Matin Nazir.“I’ve never used a Crock-Pot forIndian cooking because I’m wor-ried about overcooking or under-cooking the food and mostlybecause I’m impatient.”

Yes, they are correct about theamount of time it takes to cook ina Crock-Pot; most meals takeeight hours with the setting onlow. But as Iyer says, “one of

I

Joanne Flynn Black

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SlowCooked

January-February 2010 THE INDIAN AMERICAN 43

CROCK-POT CUISINE: Award-winning chef RaghavanIyer says he owns a Crock-Pot

and has used it to test therecipes for his cookbook, “660

Curries,” facing page.

44 THE INDIAN AMERICAN January-February 2010

the benefits of using a Crock-Pot is that you put the ingredientsin, forget about it and then theflavors miraculously come togeth-er.”

Cookbook author StephanieO’Dea agrees with Iyer. In fact,she has a whole book dedicatedto slow cooking. “Make it Fast,Cook It Slow” references how youcan prepare the food quickly thenlet it cook all day. Unattended. Nostirring. No hanging around thekitchen.

In 2008, O’Dea vowed to cookevery day in her slow cooker. Shewrote to the “Rachel Ray Show,”and within weeks she was invitedto share some of her Crock-Potsecrets on air. She has alsoappeared on “Good MorningAmerica.”

“Traditionally, slow cookershave been perceived as glorifiedpot-roast machines, but as peo-ple’s attitudes about nutritionhave changed, the slow cookerfollowed suit,” O’Dea says. “Youcan bake bread, make yogurt,roast vegetables and prepare deli-cate desserts and fish in your slowcooker.” Add to that LambVindaloo, Chicken Makhani andVegetarian Curry, which she cov-ers in the ethnic section of herbook.

O’Dea’s blog,crockpot365.blogspot.com, hasattracted more than 3 million visi-tors looking for recipes. People tryout her recipes and comment onhow the meal turned out.However, when I scannedthrough the comments, I did notcome across any Swatis orPurnimas or Taruns. Which bringsme back to why the Crock-Pothasn’t caught on in the Indian-American kitchen.

Swati Bhartey has a thought: “Icook in pressure cookers and cov-ered pots and the reason is (drumroll) that’s how my mom does it.And that’s how my relatives do it.In fact, my mom has broughtback pots she likes from India,and she has gotten them for me,too. This may be one of thosethings where it’s best not to pur-sue the sparkly new and

improved version, and insteadstick to what you know worksbest.”

Although Bhartey does admitto cooking in a Crock-Pot once,

she cringes while telling me. “I’mgoing to get kicked out of my ownculture,” she says. “Here’s why: Ihave only used a Crock-Pot tomake beef stew.”

But, there is some hope.Deepti Parekh Shah did see aCrock-Pot could have use in anIndian kitchen: “It strikes me as agreat way to slow-cook some

Indian food like dal, whose flavoronly intensifies with time.”

During a recent snowstorm, Idecided to take my Crock-Potdown from the attic and try the

Lamb Vindaloo recipe from“Make it Fast, Cook It Slow.” Icombined lamb with onions, gar-lic, cloves, cinnamon, cayennepepper, ginger and cumin and letit marinate overnight. At 10 thenext morning, I put the mixtureinto the Crock-Pot with potatoesand apple cider vinegar. I set thetemperature to low and the timerto eight hours.

I did nothing all day to it butoccasionally peer into the coveredpot and watch it bubble away. Ialso watched the minutes tickdown. My mom, Madeline, whowas staying with me at the time,said, “These smells are killingme!” I thought that she did notlike the aromas coming from thekitchen. But then she clarified,“It’s making me hungry so I keepeating snacks from your pantry.”

I also invited my neighbor andgood friend, Davie Cohen, since Iknow he loves Indian food. Hisfavorite order at an Indian restau-rant is lamb kebabs, so I knew Imight be in for some “construc-tive criticism” on my lamb dish.At 5:55 p.m., we stood around theCrock-Pot in a New Year’s Eve-countdown way and watched thelast five minutes click away on thetimer.

I served the Lamb Vindalooover rice and waited for the reac-tion. My husband, Ira, said heloved it. My mom said, “It’s deli-cious.” But they had to say thingslike that since they are family.What I really wanted was Cohen’sreaction. As I turned to see whathe had to say, I looked down athis plate. It was empty. “A secondround?” I asked. He nodded as hechewed his last bite.

As I dished out his secondplate, I thought about what Iyerhad told me, “It’s a one-pot won-der. A beautiful concoction.” Ivisualized my article in print. Ihoped that from reading this arti-cle you might be inspired to sur-prise your friends and family andcook your favorite Indian dish ina Crock-Pot.

I would love to hear yourthoughts. Write to me at:joanneflynnblack@gmail.co

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SLOW COOKER:Stephanie O’Dea haspublished a cook-book on Crock-Potmeals, above, andincludes many Indianrecopies in it.

January-February 2010 THE INDIAN AMERICAN 45

Ingredients3 pounds boneless leg of lamb orstew meat1 medium yellow onion, chopped6 garlic cloves, minced! tsp ground cloves1 tsp dried ginger! tsp cayenne pepper1 tbsp ground coriander1 tbsp ground cumin1 tsp ground cinnamon" cup apple cider vinegar

2 chopped potatoes1 (14 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

MethodUse a six-quart slow cooker.Trim the excess fat from thelamb, and cut the meat into 1-inch chunks, or use lamb stewmeat. Put into a Ziploc freezer bag withthe onion, garlic and dry spices.Close bag tightly and shake tocoat lamb with the spices.

Refrigerate overnight.In the morning, put the marinat-ed meat into the cooker, and addthe apple cider vinegar, choppedpotatoes (I didn’t peel) andcanned tomatoes. Cover and cookon low for eight to 10 hours. Serve with rice or naan. Thisfreezers well, and the flavors areeven more pronounced in theleftovers.

Serves 6

Lamb Vindaloo

Ingredients15 cardamom peels (sewntogether)2 lbs boneless, skinless chickenthighs1 onion, sliced6 garlic cloves, chopped2 tsp curry powder! tsp cayenne pepper2 tsp garam masala! tsp ground ginger4 tbsps (1/2 stick) butter1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste2 tbsps lemon juice1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk1 cup plain yogurt (to add atend)Kosher salt

MethodUse a six-quart or larger slowcooker. Carefully sew togetherthe cardamom pods using a nee-dle and thread. You can put in alittle cheesecloth bundle,instead. Put the chicken in the slowcooker, and add the onion, gar-lic and all the spices. Plop in thebutter and the tomato paste.Add the lemon juice andcoconut milk. Cover and cook on low for eighthours, or on high for four hours.The chicken should shred easilywith two forks when fullycooked.

Stir in the plain yogurt 15 min-utes before serving, and discardthe cardamom pods. Add salt to taste and feel free totweak the garam masala and

curry to your taste – it’s fine toadd more at the end of cooking. Serve with basmati rice.

Serves 4

Chicken Makhani

Vegetarian Curry

Ingredients2 (15-ounce) cans garbanzobeans, drained and rinsed1 red bell pepper, seeded anddiced1 potato, diced ! cup diced carrots! cup diced celery1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoeswith its juices2 cups vegetable broth

3 garlic cloves, minced2 tbsps curry powder! tsp ground coriander" tsp cayenne pepper# cup plain yogurt1 cup frozen peas

MethodUse a four-quart or larger slowcooker. Put the garbanzo beansinto the cooker. Add the vegeta-bles and the can of tomatoes.

Pour in the broth, and stir in thegarlic and spices.Cover and cook on low for eightto 10 hours. Stir in yogurt and frozen peas 30minutes before serving, and turnthe cooker to high. Serve the curry over freshlycooked basmati rice, and havenaan on hand to scoop.

Serves 6

Recipes From Stephanie O’Dea’s “Make It Fast, Cook It Slow”