I love to eat Indian food. I don’t always have the time to make it. The list of ingredients is often a mile long and I lack the time or patience for all the required ingredients. I have a great restaurant in my town that I often frequent when the urge hits. But when I have the time, I enjoy pulling out all my spices and making a dish from scratch.
One day I was wandering aimlessly up and down the aisles of my grocery store (something I actually enjoy doing), and I happened upon a jar of tandoori paste or marinade. I decided to pick it up. It has sat on my shelf for a very long time. Many bottles of ketchup, salad dressing, jams, and other jarred items have come and gone while it sat. If it had feelings, it probably felt abandoned and insignificant.
One day I was wandering aimlessly up and down the aisles of my grocery store (something I actually enjoy doing), and I happened upon a jar of tandoori paste or marinade. I decided to pick it up. It has sat on my shelf for a very long time. Many bottles of ketchup, salad dressing, jams, and other jarred items have come and gone while it sat. If it had feelings, it probably felt abandoned and insignificant.
I have no idea why I have neglected it for so long, but I have. The other night I made pea pulav, and had plenty left over. Why not take the paste and use it in the slow cooker with some chicken and veggies and serve it along side my leftover rice? Sounded perfectly brilliant to me.
And it was perfectly brilliant in flavor. I am not sure why slow cooker chicken always looks so drab, but the flavor was bold and intense. Of course it did not taste anything near as delicious as the tandoori chicken at my local restaurant, but it was fantastic.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp . water
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt (or sour cream if you don’t have yogurt)
- 1/3 cup tandoori paste/marinade plus 2 additional tbsp.
- 2 bell peppers; sliced
- 1 small onion; sliced
- 2 tbsp . cilantro; chopped
- 6 oz . mushrooms; sliced
- 3 cloves garlic; chopped/minced/grated
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- ½ cup cream (half/half, heavy)
- 6 chicken thighs
- Salt/pepper to taste
Instructions
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Mix the yogurt (sour cream) and tandoori paste together in a bowl.
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Reserve two tablespoons of the mixture.
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Turn slow cooker on high and add two tablespoons of water.
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If using bone-in, skin-on thighs, pull the skin back and coat the meat in the mixture, then replace the skin and coat the entire piece of chicken in the mixture.
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Place it in the slower cooker and repeat the process with the remaining chicken thighs.
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Toss the mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and garlic in the reserved mixture.
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Add the vegetables to the slow cooker.
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Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Place the lid on and cook on high for one hour.
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Then lower the heat to the lowest setting and cook for an additional four hours.
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After four hours, drain all the liquid to a bowl.
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Let it sit and allow the fat to rise to the top and then remove it.
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Reserve the rich broth.
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While the liquid is resting, shred the chicken, discarding the bones and skin.
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Return the chicken to the slow cooker and replace the lid.
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Once all the fat has risen to the surface (about 20 minutes) and is removed, add the two remaining tablespoons of marinade, cilantro, cream, and tomatoes to the broth.
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Mix well and pour into the slow cooker over the chicken and vegetables.
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Add salt and pepper as needed.
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Cook on low for an additional hour.
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Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and serve.
4 Comments
Sandi Gaertner
July 17, 2014 at 10:07 amWow Michelle, this looks like it is oozing with flavors. I can’t wait to try this recipe 🙂 I can’t tell from the recipe, how spicy is it? Is it something kids can eat, or would I need to tone down the spice?
Michelle
July 17, 2014 at 10:28 amSandi, The paste itself is mild, heat-wise speaking. But it has a lot of spices in it, as Indian food does. The addition of both yogurt and cream also has a cooling effect on those actual spices as well. If your children enjoy mild Indian food, this will be just fine for their palates. My daughter (4) ate it right up.
Julie @ Willow Bird Baking
July 17, 2014 at 10:44 amI love Indian food too! This looks delicious.
Michelle
July 17, 2014 at 4:18 pmThank you Julie. It was really tasty.