Food Experiment: A Variation on Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala (originally posted March 2, 2014)

I LOVE Chicken Tikka Masala. It is one of my favorite, favorite, favorite dishes. So when I discovered a recipe for a slow-cooker version, I was psyched. Though it smelled amazing while it was cooking, the taste was, I thought, highly disappointing. The seasoning wasn’t at all right. The tomato flavor was far too strong. It didn’t have the right sweetness. And that is just the beginning of my list of complaints.


In an attempt to doctor the meal up and make it more palatable, my husband and I added a little of this and a little of that and came up with the following. It doesn’t taste like the restaurant version I love so much, but by the time we were done with it, the chicken was actually satisfying in its own unique way.

I definitely plan on trying a few more recipes to see if I can discover one where the sauce is just right, but in the meantime, please enjoy the fruits of our little experiment. It really isn’t half bad, if I do say so myself:

Serves 8 
Hands-On Time: 10m
Total Time: 8hr 10m
 
Ingredients:
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can of tomato paste
4 teaspoons garam masala (Indian spice blend)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/3 C brown sugar
kosher salt and black pepper
2 T butter
2.5-3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs 
1 English cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups basmati or some other long-grain white rice
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:
In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, tomato paste, garam masala, ginger, cumin, sugar, butter, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, cover, and cook until the chicken is tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours (this will shorten total recipe time).
In a small bowl, toss the cucumber and cilantro with the lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
Twenty minutes before serving, cook the rice according to the package directions (or make your rice ahead with a rice cooker, like we do).
Just before serving, stir the cream into the chicken tikka masala. Serve over the rice with the cucumber relish.

***Notes-
When I made this dish tonight, I didn’t have quite enough garam masala on hand, so I threw some curry powder in to make things interesting, and I think it ended up being a nice addition!
This chicken can also be enhanced with mix-ins like raisins and coconut when you serve it.