What's Cooking? Chicken Tikka Masala!

I think the first time I had Indian food I was with my friend Jen in Davis, which was only a few years ago. I have no idea it took me until my late-20s to try Indian cuisine (I must have been afraid it was "spicy" or something). 

Meanwhile, Indian food turns out to be something Joe and I enjoy together quite a bit. He's introduced me to some of the most delicious hole-in-the-wall places in San Francisco, and one of our favorite Indian places is right near us. We found Curry Up Now at a "Off the Grid" food truck night and found out they had a brick-and-mortar restaurant selling delicious Indian street food in downtown San Mateo. Oh my gosh. Amazing. Our very favorite Indian dish? Chicken Tikka Masala.

Anyway, I did not intend this to be a review of Curry Up Now, but rather, a story of how I was inspired by Trader Joe's delicious frozen Indian food to find a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala. Chicken Tikka Masala is amusing because it was invented in England and is the national dish of the United Kingdom (well, if you believe Wikipedia). Again, I digress.

On Pinterest a few months back, I found a recipe for Chicken Tikki Masala in the Crock Pot. Hallalujah! Real Simple's version as pinned on pinterest.com.

I adapted my recipe to fit the ingredients I had at home (like, I don't have garam masala at home, though I'm sure plenty of my neighbors do!) 

~All my ingredients ready for the crock pot! ~

Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

What You Need:

1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes

1 small can of tomato paste

1 large onion, chopped (I use sweet onion)

4 cloves garlic, chopped (I used minced already in my refrigerator)

approximately 3 tablespoons of garam masala mixture (recipe follows)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 - 2 pounds boneless/skinless chicken thighs (I had chicken breast tenders, I used those)

1 cup heavy cream (more/less for correct coloring of sauce at the end)

Garam masala mixture (this is already doubled and should be enough for the recipe)

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. coriander

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

I like to mix this in a small bowl and can make more using the same proportions.

What to Do:

1. Add everything but chicken and cream into the slow cooker, avoiding splashing the sides (to avoid burning).
2. Lay chicken pieces on top.

~My chicken tenders ready to slow-cook in a tomato bath!~

3. Cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours. (I usually do high heat and leave it "warming" until it's time to add the cream.)

4. Just before serving, remove chicken from the sauce and stir in heavy cream. Return chicken to sauce. Add more cream or tomato paste if it's too pale in color or to taste. (In this case, I added a bit more tomato paste and a touch of cream to cut the tangy tomato taste).

~Ready for the rice~

5. Serve with basmati rice.

I like to serve this with the Trader Joe's palak paneer (spinach and cheese dish) and basmati rice. I had forgotten to cook the basmati rice, so I microwaved some instant brown rice instead! (Basmati definitely tastes better though.) I also heated up some Naan (not surprisingly, also from Trader Joe's.)

~Yummy dinner!~

Printable Version:

Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

What You Need:

1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes

1 small can of tomato paste

1 large onion, chopped (I use sweet onion)

4 cloves garlic, chopped (I used minced already in my refrigerator)

approximately 3 tablespoons of garam masala mixture (recipe follows)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 - 2 pounds boneless/skinless chicken thighs (I had chicken breast tenders, I used those)

1 cup heavy cream (more/less for correct coloring of sauce at the end)

Garam masala mixture (this is already doubled and should be enough for the recipe)

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. coriander

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

I like to mix this in a small bowl and can make more using the same proportions.

What to Do:

1. Add everything but chicken and cream into the slow cooker, avoiding splashing the sides.
2. Lay chicken pieces on top.

3. Cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.

4. Just before serving, remove chicken from the sauce and stir in heavy cream. Return chicken to sauce. 

5. Serve with basmati rice.