YELLOW BEEF CURRY + FREEZER DUMP BAG 

Preparing and planning your weekly meals can save you time and money, not to mention relieve the mental load we have every day when thinking “what’s for dinner?!” We’ve taken this a step further by developing a range of meals that allow for a separate freezer dump bag. So, while you’re chopping and prepping for the evening meal, you’re also prepping another meal that will be waiting in the freezer for a busy night in the future. We will soon be launching a range of these meals but for now we wanted to share this one with you, to see if you like it! So let us know what you think.

If you like this recipe you will love our Facebook group, Meal planning for busy families. Or if you have a baby and toddler you might like our group Baby and toddler food. Plus we have recently launched a whole dump bag recipe collection!

Nutrition Note: Mild curry flavours are suitable for most young children and when introduced to them early (even as early as 6-7 months of age) can help broaden the variety of flavours that they will accept.

Allergies/intolerances: Gluten/wheat: choose a gluten-free brand of fish sauce and curry paste and a gluten-free stock.

Baby serve: Mash or blend the curry, stir through some rice and spoon feed to your baby.

Toddler serve: Serve the curry with some rice in a bowl.  Alternatively deconstruct it by keeping the rice and curry separate if your toddler prefers, or even choosing some chicken or potatoes to serve as finger food alongside some of their preferred vegetables and fruit.

To create the freezer dump bag, prepare all of the ingredients up to the maple syrup. In a large freezer proof bag or container place HALF of all the ingredients excluding the peas, corn flour and lemon juice. Seal the bag shut, removing as much air as possible. Write on the bag: Defrost in the fridge. Cook on low for 6h, add 1 cup peas, 1 cup toasted cashews, 1 tablespoon of cornflour, 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Cook for a further 30 minutes. Serve with rice.

Safety note: defrost the freezer dump bag in the fridge before cooking. We don’t recommend you re-freeze the dump bag after cooking. Serve immediately and enjoy any leftovers within 24 hours.

If you don’t want to make the meal + the dump bag, we’ve got a list of ingredients for just the dump bag below.

FREEZER DUMP BAG ONLY INGREDIENTS 

• 500g casserole beef cubes
• 4 desire potatoes, peeled, quartered
• 2 carrots, peeled, roughly chopped
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 x 400ml coconut cream
• ½ cup salt-reduced beef stock
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon finely grated garlic
• 3 tablespoons yellow Thai curry paste
• 1 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (or grated palm sugar, or brown sugar)

To add when cooking: 

• 1 cup frozen baby peas
• 1 cup toasted cashews
• 1 tablespoon cornflour
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Steamed brown rice, to serve
• Chopped coriander, to serve

More wonderful snacks for toddlers can be found in our Finger Foodie eBook, Baby Foodie, Family Foodie,Best of our baking or in our hard copy books How to Raise a Healthy, Happy Eater from Baby to School Age or Boosting Your Basics.

Feature photo credit Andy Hayon Unsplash 

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Ingredients

• 1kg casserole beef cubes                       
• 8 desiree potatoes, peeled, quartered
• 4 carrots, peeled, roughly chopped 
• 2 brown onions, finely chopped
• 2 x 400ml tins coconut cream
• 1 cup (250ml) salt reduced beef stock
• 2 tablespoons finely grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons finely grated garlic
• ½ cup mild yellow Thai curry paste
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce 
• 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup (or grated palm sugar or brown sugar)
• 1 cup frozen baby peas
• 1 cup toasted cashews
• 1 tablespoon cornflour
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Steamed brown rice, to serve
• Chopped coriander, to serve

Method

Step 1

To create the freezer dump bag, prepare all of the ingredients up to the maple syrup. In a large freezer proof bag or container place HALF of all the ingredients excluding the peas, corn flour and lemon juice. Seal the bag shut, removing as much air as possible. Write on the bag: Defrost in the fridge. Cook on low for 6h, add 1 cup peas, 1 cup toasted cashews, 1 tablespoon of cornflour, 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Cook for a further 30 minutes. Serve with rice. -

Step 2

In the bowl of your slow cooker, combine the beef, potatoes, carrots, brown onion, coconut cream, beef stock, ginger, garlic, curry paste, fish sauce and pure maple syrup or palm sugar. Cook on low for 6 hours or until the beef is falling apart. -

Step 3

Add the peas, cashews and corn flour mixed with lemon juice to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook for a further 30 minutes or until the sauce has thickened*. Serve with steamed rice and coriander. -

Step 4

*Note: for a thicker curry you can use the reduce function/low on your slow cooker when adding the corn flour, with the lid open. Cook for a maximum of 10 minutes so you do not dry out the meat. -

Step 5

Storage: Allow the curry to cool slightly and keep any leftovers in the fridge for 1-2 days. Alternatively, freeze in individual portions for up to 2 months. -

Step 6

Safety note: defrost the freezer dump bag in the fridge before cooking. We don’t recommend you re-freeze the dump bag after cooking. Serve immediately and enjoy any leftovers within 24 hours. -