Recently a good friend of ours gave us a slow cooker for the office. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, as this Fall we are publishing the sixth book in Eric Akis’s Everyone Can Cook series: Everyone Can Cook Slow Cooker Meals!

Yesterday, the Whitecapettes and I—all nine of us—decided to try out our first recipe from the book. We chose the Vegetable Tikka Masala because of its (relatively) short cook time (and because one of us is vegetarian). Everyone brought in two ingredients, stone soup style, and in the morning we threw it all in the cooker and let it sit.

The tikka masala turned out great and left the whole Whitecap office smelling amazing all day. Thanks to Phil for the slow cooker and Eric for the recipe!

Group Shot, slow cooker meal

Did you know?: “Tikka” means “chunks of chicken” in Hindi.

Vegetable Tikka Masala

Makes 6 servings

This is a vegetarian version of a dish made famous in Britain. It’s usually made with chicken. The whipping cream in the curry-laced sauce in which the vegetables are cooked gives it a silky texture and, of course, a divinely rich taste. I like to serve this dish with slices of cumin seed flatbread (see Eric’s Options for Rosemary Flatbread in Everyone Can Cook Slow Cooker Meals).

1 cup (250 mL) tomato sauce
1 cup (250 mL) vegetable stock or water
1 cup (250 mL) whipping (35%) cream
2–3 Tbsp (30–45 mL) mild, medium or hot curry powder
1 tsp (5 mL) cornstarch
18 small to medium cauliflower florets
10–12 miniature red-skinned potatoes, each quartered
1 medium carrot, halved lengthwise and sliced on the bias
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 Tbsp (30 mL) peeled, chopped fresh ginger (see About Fresh Ginger on page 30)
2–3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup (250 mL) frozen peas
Salt to taste
3 Tbsp (45 mL) chopped fresh cilantro or sliced green onion

Place the tomato sauce, stock, cream, curry powder and cornstarch in your slow cooker and whisk to combine. Mix in the cauliflower, potatoes, carrot, bell pepper, onion, ginger and garlic. The mixture will look thick, but moisture will seep out of the vegetables as they cook, so don’t be tempted to add extra liquid. Push down on the potatoes to ensure they are submerged in the liquid. Cover and cook on the low setting for 5 to 6 hours, or until the vegetables are tender. Mix in the peas, cover and cook for 10 minutes more, or just until the peas are heated through. Season the tikka masala with salt. Sprinkle servings with chopped cilantro or sliced green onion.