Fragrant South Indian Beef Curry

I have come to find that the slow cooker does not only add convenience and save time in the kitchen, but the method itself was made for making curries.  Slow cooking releases the flavors gently over time while the ingredients cook. 
While many books and methods call for frying the onions or other ingredients before even getting it into the slow cooker, I find this step quite unnecessary.  In fact it was simply because of this instruction that I resisted using my slow cooker for the longest time (years actually).  I felt that if I had to fry my onions and other spices, I might as well continue cooking over the stove top.
The trick to slow cooking is layering.  It is important to keep the onions on the bottom (and ginger/garlic if using fresh instead of ground spices).  Do not skimp on the oil added to the onions in the base.  The end result is a thick, fragrant curry that will not disappoint you.
The addition of star anise in this recipe adds quite a distinct flavor to the curry.   I must admit that this is the first time I have used this spice in my kitchen and found it quite endearing.

This recipe has been adapted from http://www.foodandwine.com/

Ingredients

2 pounds stewing beef cubed
2 medium onions roughly chopped
1 sprig of fresh curry leaf
1 heaped teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaped teaspoon ginger powder
2 heaped teaspoons tomato paste
2 heaped teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon chili powder or to taste (depending on how hot you want it)
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 star anise pods
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon 
3 tablespoons olive oil or oil of choice
1 cup water 
1 cup coconut milk
Salt to taste

Method

Put the meat in a ceramic or glass container and add salt to taste. Mix and  leave aside.

Spray the bowl of the slow cooker with cooking oil.  Layer the bottom of the dish with the onions.  Add the oil and mix.

 Mix the ground spices in a bowl.  Add to the meat and mix well to coat all the meat.  Put the meat on top of the onions in a layer.

Add the 1/2 cup of water to the tomato paste and mix. Pour this gently on the meat mixture.  Add the curry leaf, and the star anise.

Pour the remaining water in the dish from which the meat was kept, and stir so any remaining spices are released.  Pour this gently along the side of the slow cooker bowl.

Cover and turn the slow-cooker on Low heat for 4 hours. Go and watch some TV, do some gardening, or just have some fun while your meat is cooking!  Give it a good stir 3 hours later. Fifteen minutes before the end add  1 cup coconut milk and stir.