Indian Butter Chicken

Last week as we were putting together the grocery list, Justin specifically requested "that Indian chicken you made one time."  WHAT?!  The guy who "hates" Indian food is actually requesting it?! 

I have to be honest--I've grown tired of my standby recipe so I decided to try something different.  I had seen a recipe for Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken) and we had most of the spices on hand...it sounded like a perfect blend of curry, garam masala and cardamom. We added it to the menu and popped all the ingredients into the slower cooker yesterday afternoon.

Not trying to brag, here--but it turned out delicious!  It reminded me of the Butter Chicken from The Globe in Topeka.  The spice blend was perfect--it wasn't spicy but it wasn't as strong as some Indian dishes can be.  We served it over rice and had regular peas on the side.  I have never made a successful peas paneer but oh, they would be great with this dish!  When it was time to eat, Justin asked where the bread was--I completely forgot to pick up some naan but as this recipe creates a lot of sauce, the naan would have been the icing on the cake. 

I've recently developed a strong aversion to reheated chicken...but I decided to be brave this morning (okay, I was starving and there was nothing else to eat) and have the left-overs for lunch.  I think it was almost better the second day!

Crockpot Chicken Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken)
adapted from Stephanie O'Dea at www.crockpot365.blogspot.com

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (mine were frozen solid)

1 onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
4 T butter
15 cardamom pods (I used about 2 t. ground cardamom instead)
2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (you can adjust this to make it more spicy)
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 can coconut milk (I used light)
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 T lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt (to add at the end, I used greek yogurt)

Use a 5 quart or larger crockpot. Carefully sew together the cardamom pods using a needle and thread. You can put them in a little cheese cloth bundle, instead, if you have that in the house. Put chicken in crockpot, and add onion, garlic, and all of the dry spices (this is where I added the ground cardamom). Plop in the butter and tomato paste. Add lemon juice and coconut milk. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. The chicken should shred easily with 2 forks when fully cooked.

Stir in plain yogurt 15 minutes before serving. Discard cardamom pods. Salt to taste, serve with white or brown basmati rice.