Slow Cooked Chicken Tikka Masala

I FINALLY found it!  After receiving requests for Chicken Tikka Masala after my Weeknight Indian Post, I have been searching and experimenting with a multitude of recipes found in Internet land.  I can now share with you this fabulous creation for Chicken Tikka Masala made in the crock pot and as delicious as you would find in any British pub.

Wait...what?  Yes, turns out that I have fallen into the trap of stereotyping ethnic cuisine.  Chicken Tikka Masala which I admittedly think of when I'm craving Indian, is not exactly a local Indian dish but more of a British spin on an Indian dish.  The origins are sketchy with belief that a cream sauce was thrown into a Chicken Tikka dish to tone down the spice in to cater towards the British pallet..  Some fun reading (and references) for those that are interested can be found here, here, and here.

Enough history, back to the food.  I was ecstatic to find a recipe in January's issue of Real Simple Magazine for their version of Slow Cooked Chicken Tikka Masala.  I was all set to make this fab looking dish when I realized the recipe looked like it was lacking quite a few ingredients.  There are cases where less is more but honestly, I was tired of having sub par or not just right Indianish leftovers. So, I did a google search and the first two links I clicked on were  1. Tasty Kitchen's recipe and 2. a link to Tasty Kitchen's recipe.  Decided to use my "gut" instinct.  Results, just like the pictures themselves, this dish was AMAZING!

It takes a little more prep than some of your standard slow cooked recipes but the results are worth the extra time.  I prepped it during my son's nap, cooked on low for 3 hours and on high for 1 instead of the recommended low on 5.  I served it with the cucumber relish in Real Simple's recipe which was a perfect companion to this rich and creamy dish.

So whether it's British fare or Indian cuisine, this meal will certainly satisfy your craving.

Tasty Kitchen's Slow Cooked Chicken Tikka Masala

For the Chicken

9 whole, Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs

1 TBSP Ground Coriander

1 TBSP Ground Cumin

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1 cup Yogurt

4 TBSP Butter

1 whole Jalapeno Pepper, Stem Removed, Pepper Pierced Several Times with a Sharp Knife

For the Sauce

4 TBSP Butter

1 Whole Large Onion, Peeled and Diced

6 Cloves Garlic

1 TBSP Kosher Salt

3 TBSP Garam Masala

1 piece Fresh Ginger, 2-3 inches, Peeled and Grated

4 Cups Crushed Tomatoes

1 TBSP Raw Sugar

2 TSP Cornstarch

1 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream

Cut the boneless, skinless chicken thighs into 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces. Sprinkle the coriander, cumin and salt over the chicken, then stir in the yogurt until all the pieces are evenly coated. Cover lightly and let sit for 10 minutes before proceeding.

Melt 1 tablespoon the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Raise the heat to medium high and quickly brown about 1/4 of the chicken. Transfer browned chicken to the slow cooker as it is finished, using 1 tablespoon of butter per batch, and repeat until the chicken is all in the slow-cooker. Throw the pierced jalapeno in on top of the chicken.

Prepare the sauce. Return the pan to the heat and melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and kosher salt, then stir. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to lightly brown around the edges.

Stir in the garam masala and ginger and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute) before raising the heat to high and adding the crushed tomatoes and raw sugar. Stir well, scraping the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan, and bring to a boil. Pour 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 or cleargel 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.

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Real Simple's Cucumber Relish

• 1/2 English Cucumber halved and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
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In a small bowl, toss the cucumber and cilantro with the lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.

Slow Cooked Shiner Bock Brisket Tacos and Avocado Salad

Our new town Roanoke adopted the slogan, "The Unique Dining Capital of Texas".   With over 40 restaurants, mostly local or at least established in Texas, there is no shortage of supply to satisfy almost any craving.  Every time we're in town we always head over to the old fashion quaint downtown area to one of the local Mexican restaurants (yes, I'm moving from a place that only has about 3 so called "Mexican" resturants in a 25mi radius to one that has two 25 yards apart) Anyway,  Mi Familia provides a fun family friendly atmosphere with festive Mexican dishes and thirst quenching Margaritas. As a creature of habit when it comes to my fav resturants, I am always choosing between the Grilled Fajita Salad with a cilantro lime dressing or the Shiner Bock Brisket Tacos.

In celebration of our move to Texas I wanted to recreate Mi Famila's Shiner Bock Bristet because it combined two of Texas' quintessential culinary fares, Mexican and BBQ.  In addition to Shiner Bock Beer which is made in Shiner, Texas,  I wanted to add another Texas made product and accent the finished dish with Fuzzy's Butt Burning Hot Sauce.

I was introduced to both Shiner Bock Beer and Fuzzy's Taco from my "I'm not from Texas but I got there as quick as I could" husband.  Beau is a beer connoisseur of sorts but when asked what comes to mind when he thinks of beer, a good ol' chilled Shiner Bock is the front runner.  You used to only be able to get Shiner Bock from a few locations which were listed on it's website.  I felt like the prize girlfriend when I went out of my way after a family trip to pick up a case for this taste of home beer deprived med student back in Iowa.  Of course I had to have my daddy buy it because I was underage but that's a different story...Fast forward almost a decade and now, even our little shoppette here in Germany carries this from time to time.

Fuzzy's Taco Shop is located across from Beau's amla mater, TCU.  This local establishment was on the verge of closing it's doors after only two years when regular (and business savvy) customers saw a hidden gem.  There are now over 42 stores in 7 states including good ol' Roanoke.  Their popular Baja Fish Taco is a delicacy in itself but top it with their infamous Butt Burning Hot Sauce and you really are in for a tasty treat.  While it will be a few months before we can indulge in Fuzzy's when a craving hits, for now our pantry is not complete without a bottle or two of this goodness.

It took some research to figure out how to go about with this recipe as there was no particular recipe that had exactly what I wanted.  I really wanted to capture the subtle sweetness of the beer and to not overwhelm the natural flavors with unnecessary spices as the hot sauce in itself compliments the simplicity of the dish .  On the side I include a fresh Avacado Salad that added almost a lightness to a usually heavy dish.  My husband was supportive but skeptical of my process.  The results of my first true attempt at Tex Mex, fabulous.    Maybe Texas will be a good fit with me after all.

Slow Cooked Shiner Bock Beef Brisket Tacos
3lb trimmed Beef Brisket
Shiner Bock BBQ Sauce* (or favorite sweet BBQ sauce we like Stubs Honey Pecan)
12oz Shiner Bock Beer
Salt and Pepper (Cayenne for an extra spice)
4 cloves Garlic smashed
2 whole Jalapenos pierced
Corn Tortillas
Lettuce
Cheese
Fuzzy Butt Burning Hot Sauce (or other hot sauce if desired)


Salt and pepper brisket and place in bottom of stoneware.  Add 1/2 of the BBQ sauce (reserve the rest) combined with Shiner Bock beer.  Marinate over night.

Pour out the 3/4 of the liquid.  Add reserved BBQ sauce, garlic and jalapenos and turn on low for 6-8 hours until brisket shreds apart easily.

Make tacos with your favorite ingredients. I used lettuce, feta, and Fuzzy's Butt Burning Sauce on corn tortillas and it was delish!


Shiner Bock BBQ Marinade
Olive Oil
1/2 cup diced onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 Jalapeno de-seeded and sliced
1 cup room temp Shiner Bock Beer
1 cup Tomato Sauce (or Ketchup for a thicker sauce)
1/4 cup White Vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Dry Mustard

Saute Onion and Garlic and Jalapeno in olive oil in a medium size sauce pan until slightly browned.  Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Use an immersion blender to blend.

Avocado Salad
Combine 1 Avocado Peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes, a variety of heirloom tomatoes, corn, black beans, and red onion.  Drizzle juice of one lime, salt and pepper, and fresh cilantro.  Toss to combine.

Weeknight Indian

There are two things in the culinary world that I can't live without; my slow cooker and Indian food.  Well okay, that was horribly cliche and not really true, but you get the point.

Before kids, one of my favorite past times with my husband was to order take out Indian from the local restaurant, grab a bottle of red, and watch episode after episode of LOST.  I can't watch that series now without craving Chicken Tikka Masala.  Indian was also my only craving during my pregnancy with my son which resulted in me Googling restaurants in all of the areas I would be temporarily living in during our 3 month move from Hawaii to Germany.  I had to make sure my ground was covered just in case a late night craving hit.  It came as no surprise that my son gobbled up his plate the first time we went to an Indian buffet when he was a year old.

Last Febuary, I had the great opportunity to take an Indian Cooking Class through Cook Curry.  In a small group,we learned about the 5 main spices of Indian cooking,  experienced a little bit of culture through wedding photos, Bollywood music and movies, and we even got to dress in an authentic Indian saree.   Along with that we  learned first hand the entire process of how to make a delicious meal.  Best of all we got to eat this amazing 3 course meal with new friends and for only about 30euro.

While I have made these recipes a couple of times since taking the class it required me two days of prep (homemade paneer requires a bit of patience and time) and a full day of childcare on my husbands part.  The process was more meticulous and time consuming than I would care for on a typical night.  So while the meal I replicated at home was really really good, I was almost too exhausted to truly enjoy it.  It will take some practice but until it becomes second nature on my part, I've been searching the Internet world for a quick and inexpensive way to get my fix.  Hence the slow cooker.

I am a big fan of the slow cooker.  A friend encouraged me to pull this out of the back of my pantry when I had my son and cooking was the last thing on my mind.  I was able to prep meals within 30 minutes during his nap and be done with it.  An awesome concept for any sleep deprived momma or really busy momma.  When I don't have time, energy, or desire to cook, this is typically how I feed my family.  My favorite site is A Year of Slow Cooking but I've also found some great recipes on Pintrest.  I'm sure it helps that this retro cooking device is coming back in vogue.

Now, I've tried a few Indian recipes in the slow cooker but they've been a bit of a disappointment.  I'm expecting it to be restaurant or semi authentic tasting but it tastes more like the dumb down version it really is.  I was ecstatic to find a recipe that was actually good.   I mean so good that I had to share.  I even whipped a yummy, very easy Indian spiced side dish.  After seeing an episode of Dr. Oz and reading multiple articles on the subject, I wanted to add more turmeric (which is a common ingredient in Indian dishes) to our diet and this was a great opportunity to experiment.  I'll leave the health benefits FAQs to the pros but you can read more on turmeric here. 

So, here is my weeknight Indian Meal.  Grab a bottle of your favorite red, pop in an episode of LOST and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Butter Chicken 

(adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking)

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped

4 inch piece fresh ginger, chopped
4 tbsp butter
15 cardamom pods (sewn together!)
2 tsp curry
1 tsp cayenne pepper 

3 tsp garam masala 

1 can coconut milk
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 T lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt

Salt to taste

Corn Starch for Thickener if needed

The Directions

Pre Prep: 

Sautee onion, garlic, and ginger in about 2 tbsp olive oil until onions are almost translucent.  Add spices and sautee for about a minute more.  Add coconut milk, lemon juice and tomato paste and stir until smooth.  

Place chicken thighs in bottom of slow cooker and cover with the sauce.  Place in refrigerator over night or cook right away.

Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 4-5.  Tweak spices accordingly, shred chicken with two forks and discard cardamom pods.  Add yogurt and cornstarch if desired 15 minutes before serving.

Turmeric Spiced Veggies

2 tbsp roughly Turmeric 

1/2 container of button mushrooms sliced

1 eggplant, chopped in 1 inch cubes and pre salted

1 zucchini, chopped into 1 inch cubes

small head of cauliflower chopped

2-3 tomatoes

1 15oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed

Salt & Pepper

Olive Oil

Directions

Begin sauteing mushrooms in olive oil on medium high heat.  In a large bowl, coat zucchini, eggplant, and cauliflower in olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and turmeric.  Once mushrooms begin to brown, add prepared veggies.  Cook until tender.  Add chickpeas and tomatoes and heat until warmed.

Serve meal with basmati rice and buttered naan or pita bread.