m has been giving me a hard time about how she sends me *all* these recipes and they *never* get made. so here ya go: i’m preparing to undertake a series of slow cooker (crock pot) recipes and here’s one m sent me. i just happen to have all of these ingredients in the house and i love me some methi leaves. check out my (almost professional) dramatic side lighting in the photos.
food processed tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, salt, turmeric, garam masala, oil, yogurt, red chili powder, and methi
the dish had a fair amount of heat but could’ve been spicier. i definitely did not add enough salt. i added more ginger than the recipe called for and 1 extra bay leaf – neither of which adversely affected the dish. m really liked the dish. i thought the chicken was too dry. i didn’t try the bone-in breast, but the legs were a bit dry (they were also like 18 months old…). the thighs were the tastiest. we ate this for 2 days and i had the last bit on the 3rd day – it wasn’t quite a full meal, even with the brown rice.
Traditional Indian Chicken Curry in a Slow Cooker
Slow cooker size: 5-quart, Cooking time: 8 hours on low, Yield: 6-8 servings
3 pounds (1.36 kg) skinless chicken cut up into 8 pieces including breast, wings and legs (boneless can also be used)
1 large or 2 medium yellow or red onions, peeled and chopped into 8 pieces
2 medium tomatoes, quartered
1 (4-inch [10 cm]) piece ginger, peeled and chopped into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces
10 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon (15 mL) salt
1 tablespoon (15 mL) turmeric
1 tablespoon (15 mL) garam masala
1/4 cup (59 mL) vegetable or canola oil
1 cup (237 mL) plain yogurt
1 tablespoon (15 mL) red chili powder
1 cup (237 mL) dried methi leaves
1 (2-4 inch [510 cm]) cinnamon stick
4 green cardamom pods
4 cloves
4-6 green Thai, serrano, or cayenne chilies, stems removed, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup (118 mL) boiling water (optional)
1/2 cup (100g) fresh cilantro, chopped
1. Put the chicken in the slow cooker. (If the meat was frozen, make sure it is thoroughly defrosted. Never use frozen foods in a slow cooker, because it takes too long to raise the heat to an appropriate level for safe, bacteria-free cooking.)
2. In a food processor, grind the onion, tomato, ginger, and garlic until smooth. This may take a few minutes, so be patient. You want the paste to be as smooth as possible.
3. Transfer the paste to a bowl. Whisk in the salt, turmeric, garam masala, oil, yogurt, red chili powder, and methi. Pour this mixture over the chicken.
4. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves, and green chilies. Mix gently.
5. Cook on low for 8 hours. If you want more broth with your chicken add the water toward the end of the cooking time. Remove the whole spices.
6. Garnish with cilantro and serve over bed of basmati or brown rice or with roti or naan.
To make this dish in a 31/2-quart slow cooker, halve all the ingredients and proceed with the recipe. A half recipe makes 3-5 servings.
Source: Anupy Singla, Author of The Indian Slow Cooker