In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Place beef cubes in a resealable plastic bag or bowl, add flour mixture and toss to coat.

Heat one tablespoon of oil over medium high heat in a large pot or Dutch oven, until shimmery. Add about a third of the beef cubes – so that the bottom of the pot is covered, but the meat isn’t crowded and touching. Allow to cook and sear, without stirring for 2-3 minutes, until nicely browned. Gently flip the pieces and repeat the process. Remove to a plate. Add another tablespoon of oil, another batch of meat, and repeat the process until all the cubes have been browned.

After all the meat has been browned, return it to the pan and sprinkle the curry powder, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger over the top and stir to coat. Cook, stirring a couple of times, until the curry is fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the tea or beef stock and raise the heat to high. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to release all the browned bits into the sauce. At this point, you can carefully pour the contents of the pot into your slow cooker.

Stir in the onions, carrots, butternut squash, and bay leaves. Put the lid on and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours, until the meat and veggies are all tender.

Remove the bay leaves before serving!