What could be more rewarding than having a meal cooking away in your crock pot (slow cooker) when you’ve had a busy day? Do you love Indian cuisine, but don’t have the time to make it from scratch? The crock pot method makes it all happen in one big pot, melding the flavors and spices and cooks it to perfection. Imagine the aroma as you walk in. You’ll know that warm, comforting feeling, it’s as if your kitchen is beckoning you in to a dish that you didn’t have to slave over.
I’ve used a slow cooker for many soups and stews but it was only recently that I discovered that cooking curry in a crock pot, was not only feasible, but it makes clean up a cinch! I did my happy dance when I first discovered it, as there’s nothing quite as heartening as an irresistible curry when the weather turns.
I served the chicken curry with some plain white basmati rice and peas.
Lemon juice, cinnamon and lots of fresh chopped cilantro were just some of the ingredients used.
A close up of the chicken in these beautiful pottery bowls.
Don’t let the long list of spices put you off. It all adds to the flavor and provides a creamy, fragrant curry.
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces or chicken thighs work great too (3 lbs)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
- 29 (ounce) can tomato puree (Contadina Brand recommended)
- 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- juice of half a lemon
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Garam Masala
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1/2 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt (or less)
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Indian green chili slit
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup half and half (or less)
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
Method
- In your crock pot, mix together, chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, tomato puree, yogurt, olive oil, Garam Masala, cumin, paprika, salt, cinnamon, pepper and one green chili.
- Add bay leaves.
- Cover and cook for 6 hours on low (or 3 hours on high).
- Whisk together half and half with the cornstarch to thicken. During the last 20 minutes of cooking, stir in the half and half. Cover again and continue to cook for 20 minutes.
- Serve over rice. Garnish with cilantro.
There you have it, an effortless, undemanding, yet flavorful and comforting Chicken Tikka masala. A set it and forget it dinner. How simple is that?
Recipe Source: Cooking Classy
The crockpot in our home gets used constantly. Thank you for sharing this wonderful meal. We will try this! 🙂 Jen
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Thank you Jen 🙂 It definitely is a time saver on busy days.
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Ohhh I love chicken tikka! It’s one of my favourite chickens lol I mean chicken meals 😉 your pictures look fabulous! Lovely post xx
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Thanks so much Linda, I hope you’ll give it a try 🙂
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Two things; I frequently use my slow cooker(s) and second I love Indian food and have been collecting different versions of this recipe. Now, you have made it easy for me to make Loretta and I will be anxious to try it 🙂
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Thanks Judi. I didn’t realize you enjoyed Indian cuisine, of course I’m partial to it. 🙂 I think I will continue to try my favorite Indian dishes in the slow cooker. It is great in the summer time too, as it does not heat up the kitchen.
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I’ve always enjoyed some Indian food – it’s just not something I cook very often. You know like Mexican,Thai, German, baking bread, etc. My family enjoys a variety and not just one particular cuisine and I have no specialty as I truly enjoy making so many different things 🙂
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WOW! so good. have to try this soon
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Thanks Archana, let me know how it turned out for you 🙂
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Drooling as I type … Wow! That’s going on next week’s dinner plan!
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Thank you Ginger. Let me know if you do try it. 🙂
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Love crock pot meals Loretta! So perfect for this time of the year too, right? Your photos are spectacular, as always!
I have missed many posts the past 3 weeks and am trying to catch up.
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Thanks Sandhya, love crock pot meals. I rarely cook curries in the summer time as it heats up the kitchen…..but with the crock pot, it is definitely feasible. Thanks for the sweet compliment on the photography, I did try to make it an Indian theme, did I succeed? 🙂
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You absolutely succeeded! You get an A+ from me 🙂
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Oh yum, Loretta! This sounds like a wonderful dish. Love that it is crock pot, too. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
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Thanks Shari. It was wonderful. How are the builders doing right now? It must be so exciting to see it all unfold. Happy Thanksgiving to you too 🙂
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I recently discovered the deliciousness that is chicken tikka masala, but I didn’t know it was something you could successfully make in a slow cooker. This looks great Loretta 🙂
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Thanks Jess, I’m just experimenting with a lot of curries made in the slow cooker. Chicken tikka masala is definitely an Indian favorite, I hope you’ll give it a try. Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
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One of my favorite dishes when I go to an Indian restaurant. Your wonderful recipe made me want to make it at home. Guess it’s time to look for a crock pot!:)
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Thanks Ronit. I certainly hope you will give it a try, it’s so easy in the crock pot. Set it and forget it 🙂
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This sounds amazing Loretta. I haven’t cooked a lot of Indian food but love all of these spices and flavors. I’m going to have to get some of the green chili’s. Are they dried or in a can? Love that I can put this in the crock pot and have it at the end of the day.
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Thanks Julie. I’m surprised you haven’t tried Indian cuisine yet. I seem to recall John enjoying spicy food? Actually, I don’t make it too spicy as I can’t handle the heat anymore 🙂 The Indian green chilies can be bought in an Indian store, they are fresh, I buy a whole batch and freeze them. It really adds an additional depth of flavor. Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
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Thank you Loretta. We’ve had a little bit of Indian food and yep John loves his spice. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving too!
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You are inspiring me to use my slow cooker for regular cooking…
I am in love with those bowls and the technique.
One question – so you added the chicken pieces towards the end of the cooking?
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Thank you Sonal. The bowls were a special gift from a friend who made them. I threw in everything at the same time, and I used chicken thighs instead of breasts as I felt cooking the breasts for too long would dry them out. I hope you get to make it for your family. It’s a fuss-free Indian dish 🙂
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An all time favourite! Your photographs are stunning.
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Thanks Sumith, I’ll take that as a huge compliment coming from you 🙂
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Thanks a lot Loretta😊
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Wow! I like the no slogging part! It looks super yum, Loretta! As much as I’d like to invest in a crock pot, I’m running out of counter space and cabinet space too 😦
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Thanks Freda. I hear ya regarding the lack of counter space. Ever since we downsized 4 years ago, I too refrain from adding gadgets to my kitchen space. But the crock pot I could never give up. Stews and soups turn out so yummy, and now that I’ve discovered curries in the crock pot, I’m sold. I rarely cook curries in the summer time, but this method keeps the kitchen cool.
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What a great idea! I never thought of curry in the crock pot (besides soups and chili I have not had great success). This looks great. I love your background tablecloth, beautiful.
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Thanks Liz. I too had only just tried it once and am completely sold on it. Thanks for the compliment on the background tablecloth, I had purchased this intricately woven piece from India.
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It’s on the hob as we speak – no slow cooker, so I put it on a low heat instead. The scent is wafting through the whole house, I can’t wait to tuck into it!
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Making this now for the second time…only change is that I use coconut cream instead of the yoghurt: a friend suggested this to avoid any curdling. Delicious!
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Ahh lovely to hear that Ginger. Most of the time, I too use yogurt in a lot of my curries, but at times I will use coconut milk, not the cream. Such a great quick dish. I want to mention too that we are going to Asturias in the Fall. I recall your post that you just wrote a few weeks ago. My husband has a colleague there, and he used to travel there for work occasionally. He always wanted to take me there, but it never happened, but now that he’s retired, we thought we’d make a trip there. We’re off to England in May to see my family and then a short visit to Switzerland. Thanks again for letting me know about the Tikka masala 🙂
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It was stunning – can’t praise it enough! And I am very jealous of your travel plans… We’re planning on going next summer, hopefully, to start Child 2 on the hiking 😉
Have a look at this post http://www.thesojournseries.com/bavaria/beach-food-rinlo-asturias/ – Emma was in the same region and took some stunning pictures!
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How strange! I did see your Asturias post, yet I see for some reason that I’m not following your blog? That’s hard to believe cos I know I have in the past?
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I dont know what is happening, it seems to unfollow people from time to time. A very antisocial blog it seems!
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Ginger told me to get my hiney over here! First of all, how did I miss this?! It sounds fabulous, Loretta! Slow-cooker recipe, too! Will try. That’s a definite!
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Thanks Angie, such a quick curry to put together. Imagine the aroma when you walk in after a hard day at school 🙂
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