Caribbean potato curry (Slow cooker, Gluten Free)

Caribbean potato curry recipe – delicious vegan slow cooker curry packed with healthy vegetables and kidney beans for an extra boost of protein.

Who doesn’t love some potatoes, thrown into a pot with some vegetables? I’m talking about healthy root based vegetables along with some kidney beans (or peas as we call them) and a host of spices to boot. Well that’s what I’m bringing to you, an island inspired gluten free, vegan potato curry that’s filling and wholesome.

In my humble opinion, dishes with potato make some of the best tasting comfort food. I like potato based meals because they are incredibly filling, especially if they are made with sweet potatoes. Yes, definitely filling to the point of my tummy bursting and equally as tasty might I add.

Potato curry with peas and more……….

The plan was to initially make the dish with potatoes and a small serving of vegetables. Then my creative juices began to flow, next thing you know I’m adding , cho cho (a small pear shaped root vegetable) known as chayote/christophene like in this recipe, bell peppers and kidney beans to the party with a boat load of warm spices resulting in a sweet curry.

It all seems like a tall order but…… there’s nothing more healthy and wholesome food in a pan/pot. This is the type of Caribbean potato curry that you can make in bulk or even serve at a dinner party. Your guests would be amazed by the taste and bold flavours.

This recipe for potato curry calls for the following;

• Jamaican curry powder  (click link for the recipe in full)
• 1 can of kidney beans (can use dried beans, see below)
• Sweet potatoes
• Cho cho
• Bell peppers
• Lime
• Garlic
• Onion
• Scallion
• Ginger
• All spice (pimento)
• Coconut milk
• Thyme
• Bay leaves
• Pink salt

Preparation of potato curry for the slow cooker – tips

When using my slow cooker as a general rule of thumb I ALWAYS saute my base notes – onion, garlic etc.. on the stove. Although not everyone does this, having tried omitting this step. I can quite confidently tell you that, cooking your vegetables before adding them to your crock pot is well worth those the extra hassle in terms of taste.

Overnight prep – You can always do this overnight if you are pushed for time and simply drop the pre-cooked ingredients into the slow cooker the next time.

How to make potato curry slow cooker style

Peel the potatoes – start by peeling the potatoes then placing them in a bowl of water to stop them from discolouring.

Kidney beans – For this recipe I used cooked kidney beans as they are much quicker to work with. Purchase a can, that should be enough just make sure it’s not in salted water.

If you want to use dried beans then I suggest soaking them overnight and par boiling them before adding to the slow cooker.

Saute the base ingredients  and curry  – Like most slow cooker recipes, impart that flavour by sauteing the aromatics – onion, scallion and garlic first of all. Then add your curry, cinnamon stick,  ginger and all spices.

Bell peppers – Once spices have been stirred into the pan I like to add the thyme and bell peppers next and coat them in the spices.

Coconut milk and lime – This is the time to add your liquid as the peppers soften.

Remaining ingredients – The bay leaves and lime along with the cho cho, kidney beans and sweet potatoes are added last. The potatoes, beans and cho cho don’t not take very long to cook and soften quite quickly so I like to add them at the end prior to simmering.

Is there an alternative to cho cho and if I cannot find it?

Yes, use zucchini if you cannot obtain any cho cho. They from a similar family so the results would be the same.

Caribbean potato curry with coconut milk – is there an alternative?

Of course I know not everyone wants to use coconut milk because they may not like the taste. Alternatively, if might be to do with dietary reasons so

• Vegetable stock 
• Light/low fat coconut milk (for more calorie control)

More vegan curry recipes you might like

Poudre de colombo (colombo powder)

Jamaican beef curry

Jamaican curried shrimp

Gungo peas coconut coconut

Black eyed peas curry

Broad beans curry

Caribbean potato curry (using steps)

Start with sauteing the onion, garlic, ginger, scallion with the cinnamon stick. Then add the spices – curry powder and allspice, black pepper and stir.

Fold in the bell peppers along with the thyme and stir together.

Add the bay leaves, coconut milk and lime and stir.

Add the cho cho (chayote), kidney beans, ans sweet potatoes to the pan before finally adding everything to the slow cooker to slow for 4 hours on high heat.

Caribbean potato curry

This delicious healthy vegan Caribbean potato curry is great for week nights  to impress your dinner guests with a taste of the tropics.

• Author: Charla
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 4 hours
• Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
• Yield: 4
• Category: Main entree
• Cuisine: Caribbean

Ingredients

1 large sized sweet potato, chopped and peeled (or 2 medium)

1 can of kidney beans, drained

1 cho cho (peeled and chopped, or use 1 zucchini)

2 bell peppers, chopped

1 can of coconut milk + 1/3 cup of water

2 tbsp of curry powder (see notes for recipe)

1 cinnamon stick

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp black pepper

2 scallion, chopped

1/2 tsp of all spice

1 thumb sized ginger, minced

2 bay leaves

5 sprigs of thyme

Juice of a lime

pink salt to taste

2 tbsp of coconut oil

Instructions

Start by melting the coconut oil on medium heat then proceed to saute the onion, garlic, scallion along with the cinnamon stick until soft.

Then add the curry, ginger and all spice, black pepper and stir until fragrant.

Add the bell peppers, thyme and cook until they begin to turn soft and combine with the spices.

Add the coconut milk, water, juice of lime, bay leaves  and stir together.

Finally add the cho cho, kidney beans and sweet potatoes and give a final stir before transferring the contents to your slow cooker. Push the kidney beans towards the bottom so they don’t become to dry from the heat as they slowly cook.

Switch the slow cooker, select high and cook for 4 hours with the lid on.

Season with pink salt according to taste prior to serving.

Notes

To cook on stove top simply leave the vegetables in the skillet once everything has been added. Turn the heat up to a rolling boil before reducing to simmer for 45-50 minutes.

Nutrition

• Calories: 440
• Fat: 32g
• Carbohydrates: 38g
• Fiber: 6g
• Protein: 10g