Curry stew with cashews (in crock-pot)

Curry - as in the yellow powder, not as in the Indian dishes - is one of the comforting spices of my childhood. Always mild, always combined with cream for the very best chicken dish... I love it. Nowadays, I don't use it a whole lot, but as I came across a recipe for a hot stew from Kenya in Sara Begnér's latest cookbook Glöd (means "glow") that has recipes from various places across the world, the curry powder intrigued me.

I decided to play down the heat completely, as spicy food isn't very popular in my family, and cook it all day in the crock-pot, to make dinner-time more effortless. It turned out really nice - flavorful and spiced, without being spicy. We ate it with bulgur, and plenty of toppings.

Curry stew with cashews (in crock-pot)
serves 4-6

1 kg stewing beef (I use "högrev" which I believe is chuck steak)
2 tbsp butter
salt, pepper
1-2 tbsp curry powder
2 beef stock cubes
700 ml water
2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp smoked paprika (I used the sweet kind, without heat)
1/2 tbsp brown sugar

Toppings:
fresh coriander
dried apricots, chopped
toasted cashews
greek yogurt

Cut the meat into large dice. Heat half the butter on high heat, and brown the meat, a little at a time, on all sides. Transfer to crock-pot and toss with salt and pepper. Add the rest of the butter, the curry powder, the beef stock cubes and fry for a few seconds. Add a little of the water to deglaze the pan and pour all of the pan contents into the crock pot. Add the rest of the water, onions, garlic, and smoked paprika. Cook on low until the meat is tender - I had almost ten hours, but I'm sure a few hours less would have worked well too. Season with brown sugar, and taste to see that it's the way you want it. Serve with rice or bulgur, and toppings as you wish.