Chicken Tikka Masala

I give you the best dish I have ever made in my life.

But then I'm partial to Indian food.

It's another slow cooker recipe, although a little more involved than the chicken mole. But it is worth the work a hundred times over.

Serve it up with some coconut basmati rice and homemade naan and you'll have a restaurant quality meal.

Chicken Tikka Masala - Slow Cooker

From Eat, Live, Run

9 boneless/skinless chicken thighs (about 3 1/2 lbs)
1 TB dried parsley (or ground coriander)
1 TB cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup yogurt
4 TB Butter
1 whole jalapeno

4 TB Butter
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
1 TB kosher salt
3 TB garam masala
2-3 inches fresh ginger, peeled and grated
4 cups crushed tomatoes
1 TB white sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups cream

To prepare the chicken:

Cut the chicken thighs into 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces.

Sprinkle the parsley, cumin and salt over the chicken, then stir in the yogurt until all the pieces are evenly coated. Cover lightly and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Melt 1 TB of the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat.

Raise the heat to medium high and brown both sides of about 1/4 of the chicken (no need to cook it fully as it will finish cooking in the slow cooker).

Transfer the browned chicken to the slow cooker.

Melt another TB of butter and brown the next 1/4 of the chicken pieces. Repeat until all of the chicken has been browned and is in the slow-cooker.

Remove the stem from the jalapeno, pierce it several times with a knife and throw it in the slow cooker on top of the chicken.

To prepare the sauce:

Melt 4 TB of butter over medium high heat. Stir in the onions, garlic, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to brown.

Stir in the garam masala and ginger and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).

Increase the heat to high and add the crushed tomatoes and sugar.

Stir well, scraping the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan, and bring to a boil.

Pour the sauce over the chicken in the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours, or until the chicken is very tender.

Use a fork or whisk to stir the cornstarch into the heavy cream until smooth.

Pour into the slow-cooker and stir gently until the colour is even.

Replace the lid and let cook for 10 minutes or until bubbly around the edges.

Serve over hot coconut basmati rice (recipe below).

Coconut Rice

Cook the rice in equal parts coconut milk and water (note: a can of coconut milk is a little less than 2 cups). Stir in some shredded coconut for the last few minutes of cooking.

Basmati rice is delicious, but I've used a combo of brown and white rice when that's all I had on hand.

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