Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

You're probably reading this blog post, shaking your head, and saying to yourself, what is this, Slow-Cooker Week, or what? Well, I hadn't intended for it to be, but it looks as though it is. I have been using the heck out of my slow cooker this week, and with incredible results. I don't think I really ever realized just how much I used it, until I started writing blog posts. Today I have another wonderful, easy, and delicious recipe for your slow cooker.

I like spicy foods of all kinds, so this was something that I have long wanted to try. I haven't done a lot of Indian food in the crockpot, but I hope to remedy that very soon. My first effort was the butter chicken that was absolutely incredible; this dish is a little spicier, but equally as flavorful. I like my food extra spicy so I added a couple of pinches of cayenne pepper. You may not want to do that, because that does turn up the heat quite a bit.

 

This is a great warming winter recipe for those of you whose tastes lean toward the more exotic side. As with all crockpot recipes, this one is very forgiving, just use what you have. In fact, just between you and me, I didn't really have plain yogurt, but I did have some Chobani peach yogurt with the fruit on the bottom, so I just scraped off the plain yogurt on top leaving the fruit in the container and dumped that into the crockpot. No one was the wiser, and it tasted just the same. It pays to get creative.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

 

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2½ teaspoons garam masala

1-2½" piece ginger, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ medium yellow onion, diced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1½ teaspoons turmeric

1 (14-ounce) can Rotel tomatoes

1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas

1½ cups plain yogurt

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Spray interior of crockpot with Pam.

Toss chicken with salt, pepper, and garam masala in a medium bowl. Place in crockpot.

Mix next 8 ingredients together in a small bowl.  Pour over Chicken.  Cook on low for 6 hours. Stir in peas, cook for 30 minutes. Turn off crockpot and stir in yogurt and lemon juice. Serve atop our favorite rice and garnish with cilantro.

PRINT RECIPE

This post is linked to: Wow Us Wednesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Share Your Style, and Foodie Friday & Everything Else