Crock Pot Sunday Ray Conrad 3/11 '20

This week's Crock Pot Sunday adventure is Butter Chicken sauce. I've never made this before, since, Indian food was never on the menu in rural New England while I was growing up. I am venturing into culinary Terra Incognita.

I blame Jill. Since I had it one time the Philadel group went to an Indian restaurant for dinner. I've kind of been jonesing for it ever since.

So, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!

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3/11 '20 9 Comments
I would just like to let you know that I'm going to steal the tag "I blame Jill". I suspect I may have a few uses for it. :P
Matt Lichtenwalner
Lay on. It's not copyrighted.
Ray Conrad
Furthermore, I suspect she'd take it as the compliment it's meant to be.
Matt Lichtenwalner
True. It's an honor. :-)
Jill "xtingu" Knapp
Crock Pot Sunday was delayed 24 hours due to a St. Patrick's Day party/Westworld viewing party. I threw it together on Monday afternoon and had it over Riced Cauliflower. Disappointing. I am one of those people who can taste bitter, better than average. The bitter flavor cut right through the sauce and really put an odd flavor on the whole dish.

Tuesday I had it over plain white rice. Holy cow, what a difference. Bland is a flavor and the bland flavor of the rice made the sauce sing. This dish was something to look forward to as I was locked in from Tuesday onward.

But that's another blog post.
Ray Conrad
Glad to hear that it was (when properly paired) a success!

(Though to be clear - I would absolutely have tried the riced cauliflower first too. Gods damned carbs n' shit.)
Matt Lichtenwalner
Many many lifetimes ago, Jeremy and I used to have Indian Food Tuesdays (or was it Thursdays?) where we'd cook Indian dishes at home. MAN were they tasty. It taught me a lot about spices that I hadn't been exposed to as a half-Italian growing up in north Jersey. Cumin? Cardamom? Who?

But yeah, it is a delicious and fairly easy cuisine to make at home, and sooooo satisfying.
Jill "xtingu" Knapp
Most excellent! You must report on the outcome!

Just last night I whipped up a *lovely* coconut milk curry with swordfish (snagged some on sale a while back and had it in the freezer). I stole the recipe from a website called melskitchencafe.com. The recipe there calls for shrimp, which I've also used in the past. Is there a link to the recipe you're using?
Anne Mollo
My modification of a recipe I found on the interwebz, calling for cauliflower to replace the chicken. WTF!? Especially since I replace the rice with riced cauliflower, double cauliflower is not called for. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
yield: 6 SERVINGS prep time:10 MINS cook time: 5 HRS total time: 5 HRS 10 MINS

This rich, creamy Slow Cooker Butter Chicken has the taste of authentic Indian butter chicken, made easy and healthy with everyday ingredients and veggies!

Ingredients
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts — about 4 medium breasts, diced
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 yellow onion — diced (about 1 cup)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
4 cloves minced garlic — about 4 teaspoons
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter — cut into small pieces (use coconut oil to make dairy free)
1/2 cup half-and-half or full-fat coconut milk — do not use light coconut milk, as it will water down the sauce
1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt — or non-dairy yogurt to make dairy free

FOR SERVING:
Prepared brown rice
Quinoa
Naan
Chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions
Dice the chicken and set aside.

In a nonstick skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium high. Once hot, add the onion and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, curry, garam masala, chili powder, salt, and tomato paste. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Transfer the onions to a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Lay the diced chicken on top and top with tomato sauce. Stir to combine the sauce a bit, leaving the chicken pieces undisturbed underneath. The chicken pieces will seem a bit in the way. Just use a spoon to prod the sauce so things are more evenly coated. Scatter the butter pieces over the top.

Cover and cook on high for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours or on low for 4 to 6 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. The cooking time may vary based on your slow cooker, so check early to ensure the chicken does not dry out.

Stir in the half-and-half. Let cool a few minutes, then stir in the Greek yogurt. (Don't stir in the yogurt right away; if the butter chicken is too hot, it will curdle.) Enjoy warm over brown rice, quinoa, naan, or riced cauliflower, sprinkled with fresh cilantro.
Ray Conrad