Better Butter Chicken (in the CrockPot)
My sister dropped off sick kids this morning and left them to languish on my couch all day while W tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to rouse them and I tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to get stuff done. I had bought some skinless chicken thighs and drums to test a “faux fried chicken” recipe, but instead decreed that they should spend the day in the CrockPot becoming butter chicken.
So I threw it all in, the drumsticks partially frozen, even, without bothering to brown anything first. (Which isn’t necessary, but does boost flavour.) At 5 I stuck a pot of brown rice on to boil, and stirred a bit of plain yogurt and a bit of cream into the finished chicken. After cooking all day the meat self destructed upon being stirred; I just plucked the bones out. You could start with skinless, boneless chicken, but any meat cooked on the bone has far more flavour.
Better Butter Chicken (in the CrockPot)
It’s easier to find chicken pieces with skin; I just pull it off at home.
4 each: skinless, boneless chicken thighs and drumsticks
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. grated ginger
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. curry paste or powder
pinch cinnamon
1 28 oz. (796 mL) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 Tbsp. tomato paste (optional)
1-2 tsp. garam masala (optional)
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup(ish) half & half or whipping cream
salt and peppersteamed brown basmati rice, for serving with
Throw everything but the yogurt, cream, salt and pepper into the CrockPot, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Uncover, stir in the yogurt and cream, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve hot over rice. Serves 6.
This was good for a laugh today.
One Year Ago: Cinnamon Bun French Toast and Chocolate Cake
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April 20 2009 07:49 pm | chicken & turkey and slow cooker
Cheryl on 20 Apr 2009 at 8:24 pm #
I really do need to upgrade my slow cooker. I bought a ridiculously large one last year – it didn’t seem that big – but nothing actually ever gets cooked in it, even after 8 hours. Your recipes are so tempting… and may inspire a trip to Crappy Tire.
Kate Crawford on 21 Apr 2009 at 12:54 am #
Hey just read your article. That sounds pretty good, can’t wait to try it out. You should post it on Wacanai too. I have found a ton of food and drink recipes that have come in handy at BBQs. They have a ton of articles on how to make everything. Plus you can put a link to your page and they have graphs to track how many hits you get on your articles. Thanks so much for posting your article.
Natalie (Michigan) on 21 Apr 2009 at 4:11 am #
too funny (youtube)
thepinkpeppercorn on 21 Apr 2009 at 4:42 am #
mmmmmm!
Barb on 21 Apr 2009 at 6:03 am #
Whew. Ok . I think the tears have dried enough that I can see to typo. It sounds so funny when other people (or animals) say it. Does it really sound that funny when we say it? I mean, do I sound funny now?!
RobbingPeter on 21 Apr 2009 at 11:53 am #
I have copied this into my notebook for future trying. I am curious about the 1/2 & 1/2, is it absolutely necessary? It just seems like an awful lot of cream. I don’t know why I am such a cream-phobe, if you had said add a ton of cheese I wouldn’t have blinked. But for some reason, anything calling for cream or 1/2 & 1/2 spooks me.
Go figure.
ps: Love your blog.
Elaine on 21 Apr 2009 at 4:07 pm #
Brilliant. Dinner tomorrow. I live just south of Little India, a neighborhood in Chicago–and, as luck would have it, replenished my garam masala stock last weekend!
piccola on 21 Apr 2009 at 4:29 pm #
I wonder if you could use evaporated milk instead of the cream…
JulieVR on 21 Apr 2009 at 4:46 pm #
You could totally use evaporated milk (wouldn’t taste quite the same), or just the yogurt, or none at all. Half a cup of half & half for this quantity isn’t bad though, considering most butter chicken calls for copious amounts of butter and/or heavy cream! (Half & half is 10%, whipping cream 35%, so when you look at it that way it seems like a good deal.)
Cory on 21 Apr 2009 at 5:47 pm #
Oooooh, looking forward to trying this.
Angela on 21 Apr 2009 at 7:48 pm #
Doesn’t butter chicken usually have butter in it?
JulieVR on 21 Apr 2009 at 7:49 pm #
Surprisingly, no! I mean yes sometimes, but not always. And not when you’re trying to trim it down a bit…
helen on 22 Apr 2009 at 9:15 am #
Can’t get enough of simple, weekday meals. This looks healthy and delicious!
jennifer on 22 Apr 2009 at 9:38 am #
Alright, is this worth making? I am planning on using my crockpot on Friday with two adults and three kids or does someone have another crockpot gooder? I recently made a boeuf daube in the crockpot, supper yum.
Aimee on 22 Apr 2009 at 5:36 pm #
III’m craving this kind of one pot meal.Thanks for the nudge.
Paul Cameron on 08 Nov 2009 at 8:33 pm #
So…it’s 8:30 pm and I just put all the items for this in a crockpot, and then in the fridge.
Veronica will turn the pot in just before she leaves in the morning to take the kids to School and…voila…Butter Chicken for dinner.
I’ve got a feeling we’re going to visit your blog a great deal more over the winter….
Paul