Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

As someone who does her best to cook a bunch of meals over the weekends to eat during the week, my slow cooker is one of my most used appliances. I recently tried to move it into a closet to declutter my kitchen, but I keep asking my husband to help me retrieve it so often that he’s questioning its removal from our counter top.

One of my favorite takeout meals is Butter Chicken, so I wanted to learn how to make a version at home.

I based this recipe off a recipe from NY Times food, but adjusted it for the slow cooker, because we all know how much I love a slow cooker recipe. My version makes about 8 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups Greek yogurt
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1 ½ tablespoons ground turmeric
• 2 tablespoons garam masala
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 whole tomatoes from a 14oz can of whole tomatoes (~1/2 of the can), chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 ½ cups cream (or coconut milk, if desired)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 cup ground almonds (or almond flour)
• Cilantro, for garnish
• 3 cups cooked rice, for serving

Combine the yogurt, lemon juice and zest, turmeric, garam masala, and cumin in a large bowl.

Add chicken, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerant overnight.

The next day, add 2 tablespoons butter and 1/2 tablespoon oil to a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, 3-5 minutes.

Add the garlic, ginger, and cumin seeds. Cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and add to your slow cooker.

In the same pan, add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. When heated, add the chicken and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken to your slow cooker. Top with the cinnamon stick and tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the chicken stock and cook on low for 5 hours. />

After 5 hours, remove the cinnamon stick and stir in the cream and tomato paste. Cook on low for another 30 minutes, uncovered (this will help thicken the sauce).

While waiting for the chicken to finish cooking, prepare your rice for serving.

After 30 minutes, remove the cinnamon stick and stir in the ground almonds.

Spoon out the rice into bowls and top with the chicken mixture. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

My husband and I like this so much, we removed the batch I had put in the freezer and instead ate this multiple times during the week!

There is so much flavor to this dish from the spices, and the creaminess of the sauce is addicting!

I’m going to have to make another batch just so we have it saved in the future for busy weeks!