Slow cooker Butter Chicken

This rich, buttery, creamy chicken needs no introduction. Most probably the best known of all Indian dishes loved by all age groups from 8 to 80.

Butter Chicken is a heartwarming favorite at my home, I make it in family parties and always receive hugely enthusiastic reviews from them. As for me, it refreshes many happy memories eating out with my friends during regular hang- outs and road trips.


History
Some say that the British came up with this recipe and some believe the recipe is said to have originated in a restaurant called Moti Mahal in Delhi, India.

Kundan Lal Gujral, a Hindu, originally from undivided India’s Peshawar in Punjab, fled to India following the partition. He was ingenious enough to overcome the times of political upheaval and open a restaurant in Old Delhi. This restaurant became internationally acclaimed for its tandoori creations—apparently Kundan’s inventions. Tandoori chicken, butter chicken, and dal makhani were served by elegant Peshawaris dressed in pathani suits to desi and foreign diners who stopped by for its celebrated dishes. The restaurant became a landmark in Delhi and was sought after by famous visitors including world leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Bhutto, Kennedy, and the like. Thus began the popularity of Butter Chicken.

Asian Slow Cooking

I generally cook from the scratch but if you don't prefer cooking with these many spices, may add garam masala powder and curry paste for the marinade.

Ingredients 
Sauce
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 onion, sliced

6 garlic cloves, chopped

4 tablespoons butter
1 cup half and half
2 big tomato (grind it yourself)

Marinade

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tbsp cumin powder
2 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tbs can tomato paste
1 cup cashew nut paste
1/2 tsp fenugreek powder
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tbsp cardamom pods
2 tbsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp pepper powder
1 tbsp anise powder

Direction:

Marinade

Cut the chicken in bite-size. Mix all the spices for the marinade. Keep two tsp aside. Mix the chicken, lime juice, salt and the spice mix in a large, non-metallic bowl. Cover and allow to marinate for 1 hour.

Slow Cooker
Heat the oil in a deep pan on medium heat. When hot, add the onions. Fry till a pale golden brown in color and then grind it to a paste.
Put the chicken in the slow cooker, and add onion paste. Add all the other ingredients including the 2 tsp spice mix except milk Plop in the butter.
Add the milk gradually with stirring continuously. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4hrs. The chicken should shred easily with 2 forks when fully cooked.
Serve with white Basmati rice or Naan.

Slow cooker Bengali Chicken Curry

This Bengali Chicken curry is very close to my and many bengali's heart. It is a soul food for us and I have very fond childhood memories related to this chicken curry. Meat on Sunday afternoon was a done thing for most  families when I was growing up, All the nieghbourhood uncle's along with my father queuing up at the local butcher  and waving each other with a black plastic containing the meat was a sight every sunday morning. 

Chicken with potatoes, cooked and marinated with mustard oil, garnished with fresh cilantro/mint from the backyard was generally a common dish in all bengali households lovingly termed by us bengali's as 'Robibarer Murgir Jhol'

The Potato and Mustard oil is basically the difference that Bengali chicken curry as compared to other chicken curries in India.
The spice factor in this curry depends on you, some regions make it spicy and hot while others make it very light and watery.
I am used to the later one and this is such a stress buster for me that I actually ate this prepared by my mother before going to the hospital to deliver my first baby..... Surprised!! but believe me this is not spicy and kind of soupy, so its a feast for your taste buds.

Ingredients:
Chicken - 1,skinless, cut in medium pieces
Onion - 2, finely sliced
Potatoes - 2, peeled and cut into medium pieces
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tbsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tbsp
Green Chili - 3, sliced
Cumin Powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tbsp
Cardamom (small) - 3 to 4
Cinnamon sticks - 2 Cloves - 4 to 5
Fried Cumin Powder - 1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Mustard Oil - 1/3 cup

Mint leaves/ Coriander leaves

Direction:

Wash the potatoes and keep them aside.

Heat oil in a skillet and fry ginger garlic paste, green chili, cumin powder, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves for about 45 seconds.

Add onions and fry it till golden brown. 

Add all the ingredients in slow cooker except the coriander/mint leaves. 

Add one cup water and cook on slow for 6-7 hrs.

Garnish with coriander/ Mint leaves. 
My mother always used mint leaves because we loved the flavor.

Serve with a cube of  butter and hot rice.

Slow Cooker Tom kha Gai (Thai coconut milk and chicken soup)

 It’s the soup I crave when I’m sick in bed or when I’ve had a very busy day and need something comforting or a portion of delicious comfort food on a chilly day.

This generally is made in my slow cooker when I know it will be a long and busy day for me either with my daughter or my household shopping. Having a hot bowl of soup, sitting beside my window after a busy day is total bliss for me.

This classic Thai chicken soup gets its rich flavor from quintessential Thai ingredients: coconut milk, lemongrass, fresh galangal, lime juice, chile paste, and cilantro.

A flavorsome Thai coconut chicken soup. Tom Kha Gai, among Thailand’s most popular soups, may be served at the beginning of a meal or even as the entrée, perhaps with noodles. One thing about the foods of Thailand – they all have a sense of taste balance, including sweet, salty, tangy, and savory references altogether. This unique Thai coconut chicken soup is bursting with exotic flavor.

Tom kha kai or Tom kha gai literally means chicken galangal soup is a spicy hot soup in Loa Cuisine and Thai Cusine.  The fried chilies add a smoky flavor as well as texture, color, and heat, but not so much that it overwhelms the soup.  Thai-style tom kha gai does not use dill weed, whereas Lao-style tom kha gai usually uses it, which is a common herb used in Lao cuisine. Cilantro is used in Thai soup instead of dill weed.

Ingredients

6 cups chicken  stock

2 cans (or 28 ounces) full fat coconut milk 

1 tomato cut into small pieces

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup shredded/ boneless chicken

6 Shitake mushrooms cut in half

4 stalks fresh lemongrass, lower white part chopped into 1-inch chunks, then smashed with a knife 

6 red shallots, peeled and chunked (Sub: 3 smashed cloves of garlic plus a bit of red onion)

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

4-5 fresh red bird’s eye chili peppers, smashed with a knife (Sub: Sriracha sauce or red chili powder 1/2 teaspoon)

3-inch chunk of fresh galangal root, sliced (Sub: ginger, but galangal is really what makes the flavor of this dish authentic.) 

8-10 fresh kaffir lime leaves, remove stems and tear and bruise by hand (Sub: zest of two lime and four-bay leaves) 

2 teaspoons coconut palm sugar (Sub: 3 teaspoons brown sugar)

Direction:

1. Place all ingredients, except the fresh cilantro and mushrooms, into the slow cooker, and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-7.

Add the mushrooms during the last 20 minutes of cooking, and top with cilantro when serving.

I generally enjoy my Tom Kha Gai with noodles, so I made some. Now I am ready to sip, slurp, and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Afghan Lamb with Spinach

I find Afghan food to be very flavorful -- accented with subtle spices. Afghan food is not as spicy as Indian food. Some Afghans love spicy food so they make various kinds of accompaniments to add the extra zing.

Onions are the base for most Afghan dishes. Sabzi Challow is a traditional Afghan NewYear’s Eve dish, made with spinach (sabzi) and lamb with rice (challow). This particular dish with lamb and spinach only is called Sabzi-e- Ghoste (means vegetable and meat).

I had sabzi -e-ghoste in an Afghan friend's wedding and wanted to try the dish since then. According to me the subtle spices in the spinach combined with lamb and Basmati rice is a perfect dinner for a rainy day.

Ingredients

2 pounds lamb meat
1 cup olive oil
2 onions, diced large
4 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 teaspoons turmeric
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 can (32 ounce size) tomatoes, drain and chop
8 oz water/ beef stock
1 pound fresh spinach, wash and drain
1/2 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
salt, to taste
1/4 cup roasted pine nuts

Directions
Sear lamb in the olive oil in a cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven. Add the onions; saute them for 2 minutes; then add the garlic and saute it for 1 minute. Put this mixture in the slow cooker 

Put in all the other ingredients except lemon peel, spinach and pine nuts.

Cook for 5 hrs on low then add the spinach and continue cooking for additional 3 hrs.

Add the lemon peel and salt to taste. Sprinkle with roasted pine nuts.

Serve over rice pilaf.

Slow cooker Thai Mango Chicken

Thai food is something that my whole family enjoys eating whenever we go out. Everything from the Satey to Drunken Noodle to Red and Yellow Curry dishes.... we love it all!

Growing up in a tropical country I simply loved mangoes and there’s something about the combination of Mango,Coconut milk and Chicken that just works. 

This dish is a myraid of colors and flavors. The base of this curry is basically onion, coconut milk and red pepper.

  

This recipe calls for yellow curry powder which is easier to make than you think, and the taste is so much better than store-bought powders which, unless you're lucky enough to find an organic blend, usually contains preservatives.  Using a curry powder rather than a paste means the curry is quick and easy to make, and many of the roadside curries I enjoyed in Thailand were made this way. 

I used boneless chicken tenderloins in this recipe as I had very little time for preparation. I planned to cook this in the afternoon for dinner, that's the only time I get to cook when my baby is taking her afternoon nap!

CURRY POWDER RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. turmeric

• 3 bay leaves 

• 3 Tbsp. whole coriander

• 2 Tbsp. cumin seed 

• 2 tsp. ground ginger

• 1 tsp. ground pepper 

• 2 to 3 tsp. cayenne pepper powder or chilli paste

• 2-3 whole clove

Direction

Remove pan from heat and tip spices into a bowl to cool. Meanwhile, prepare your grinder.
Place toasted spices in the grinder and grind well to make your curry powder.

If using whole spices

Place all ingredients in a dry frying pan over medium-high heat. Stir continuously for 1 minute, or until pan is very hot. Then reduce heat to medium and continue stirring 6 to 10 minutes. This will lightly toast the spices, leaving them even more fragrant and tasty.

If using ground  spices

Use all ground spices in this version, omitting the bay leaf until you cook your curry. Stir together the spices and then 'dry roast' them all together as instructed above. When you use the powder for curry, be sure to add 1-2 bay leaves to your curry pot.

MANGO CHICKEN RECIPE

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces (can also use drumsticks if you desire)
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger 
2 Tbsp. yellow curry powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

4 Tbsp. of canola

1 can. coconut milk2 ripe mangoes, peeled and diced (try using little firm mangoes which are not very sweet)
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar (use any vinegar you have, except wine vinegar)
Salt to taste


Direction

Take a skillet add the oil in medium heat and put the onions. When the onions turn slight brown add the pepper and fry them together.
Put the chicken in the slow cooker first and then add all the other ingredients finishing with coconut milk at the end.
Dont worry about the mango it will be cooked and the pieces will be intact, cut bit bigger pieces so that it doesn't get mixed in the curry. 
Try to keep few pieces for garnish if you can........ my husband ate them, so I was not able to garnish my dish with mangoes.
Set your slow cooker on high for 2 1/2 hrs if using boneless chicken and 3 1/2 hrs if using drumsticks. 
I generally make it in the afternoon so I keep it on high, you can cook all night or day long on low for 6-7 hrs on timer.
Serve it with hot rice and garnish with mangoes.

Slow cooker Kolhapuri chicken

This recipe has a special place for me. Beign born and brought up in Mumbai,Maharastra many of my nieghbours were Kolhapuri Maratha's. Most of the Sundays our house used to fill up with the amazing smell of this chilli infused coconut chicken coming from nieghbouring homes..... sometimes it used to mix up with the smell of Kosha Mangsho ( Bengali Goat Curry) made by my mom and all these aroma used to make me extremely hungry.

HISTORY

Kolhapuri cuisine is well known for its bold and aromatic dishes. Traditionally, the food is spicy and full of robust flavors. Kolhapuri Chicken is a delicious example of what Kolhapuri cuisine has to offer. This Chicken curry is called Tambra Rassa". This is a curry prepared using red chilly powder to make it appear "Tambra" that is redish. Kolhapuri cusine was developed by Marathas (hindu warrior class) who had a love for mainly non vegetarian foods.
This dish is spicy, so feel free to adjust the spiciness to suit your palate.

INGRIDIENTS:

	Chicken,pieces on bone (12)	2lbs
	Sesame seeds	1 tbs
	Poppy seeds	2 tbs
	Black peppercorns	6-8
	Caraway seed powder	1 tsp
	Cinnamon	1 inch stick
	Green cardamom	3-4
	Black cardamom	1
	Clove	4-5
	Mace	1 blade
	Coconut grated	1 cup
	Whole dry chillies	8-10
	Ginger	1 inch piece
	Garlic	6-8 clove
	Olive oil	5 tablespoon
	Red chilli	3-4
	Onion ,chopped	3 medium
	Turmeric powder	1/4 tsp
	Nutmeg	a pinch
	Salt	to taste
	Fresh coriander leaves,chopped	2 tbs

DIRECTION:
Dry roast sesame seeds, poppy seeds, black peppercorns, caraway seeds, cinnamon, green cardamom, black cardamom, cloves and mace separately. Cool and grind along with dry coconut and bedgi red chillies to a fine paste, adding a little water. Grind ginger and garlic to a fine paste.
Heat olive oil in a thick-bottomed pan, add dry red chillies, stir-fry briefly, remove and reserve for garnish. Add onions to the same oil and sauté till golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and cook on medium heat for a few seconds.Stir in prepared coconut paste and cook til slight brown.
Put all the pan roasted ingredients in the slow cooker. Add chicken pieces, mix well and add the remaining spices,mix again and cook on high heat for 4 hrs. The masala (gravy) should be quite thick and dry. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves, grated coconut and fried dry red chillies with steamed rice.

CHEF'S NOTE
I made this curry medium spicy,traditionally it should be more spicy. If you want to make it more authentic add more chillies.




I

Lamb Dhansak (sweet and sour Lamb curry with lentil sauce)

History : In order to escape persecution at the hands of the Muslims in Iran, a small group of Zoroastrians left their ancestral town of Paras and set sail for India.

Dhansak is a Parsi dish traditionally served on Sundays and very popular with the Parsi community around Mumbai. It is a hot, sweet and sour dish offered at feasts and made of mutton, lentils, vegetables, spices, cumin seeds, ginger, garlic etc. Dhan refers to  split beans: Chickpeas, Pigeon peas, Moong, Urad, Masoor, dried green and yellow peas. The dish may contain one or more of these Dal. Most common beans used are Lentils (Masoor) and Pigeon-peas (Toor).

Ingredient:
100g/ 0.2 lbs red lentils
1 lbs butternut squash , peeled and chopped into chunks
2 onions roughly chopped
2 chopped tomatoes
1 tsp turmeric
1½ tsp cumin seeds
1½ tsp coriander seeds
4 cardamom pods , squashed
oil
1lb lean diced lamb
1 thumb-sized piece root ginger finely chopped
4 garlic cloves , crushed
2-3 green chillies, sliced
1 tsp garam masala powder
Coriander chopped

Directions:

Grind all the spices except bay leaves to a fine powder, coat the meat and cover with cling film in the fridge for at least 2 hours, I leave this overnight.
Brown the lamb pieces in batches in a hot frying pan with a little oil and set aside on a plate.
Fry off the onions until slightly browned. Put ⅔ into the slow cooker, add the meat.
Add the remaining onions to a food processor, along with a tin of chopped tomatoes, the garlic and 1 ½ pints water and blitz until smooth. Add to meat and onions.
Add tumeric, salt, garam masala,red lentils,butternut squash and bay leaves. Stir and put on low setting on the slow cooker for 8 hours
Add coriander and lemon juice, stir well, serve.

If you refer my recipe and make  them today,Please leave me a comment how it turned out. It will motivate me to write more recipes.

Slow cooker palak paneer (Cottage cheese cubes in spinach sauce)

Paneer is an important dish for the vegetarians in India, It is a must in weddings or any occasion for a vegetarian.

Today was one of those days when you have too much work, a fussy baby, and a desire to cook a good meal. I was working on my sewing project for a long time and wanted to finish it today but still wanted to eat a good meal so I made the preparation, put the palak paneer in the slow cooker, and sat to finish my project.





Some may wonder that this seems easy on a stove top too but the total time spent in preparation for slow cooker palak paneer is less than 10 minutes compared to 45 minutes preparation and cooking time if you do it on stove top.

HISTORY :
In India Saag made of Mustard greens with Yak's milk goes back at least 2000 BC during the Mohenjodaro and Harappa Civilization but the Paneer was introduced during Emperor Akbar's period late 15 century.

Paneer was invented by Mongols riding their horses carrying milk in Mushki (Bags made of raw-hyde). The heat of desserts and the rennet in the leather turned the milk into Paneer.

Palak Paneer is a Spinach Leaves based curry dish eaten in India and Pakistan with bread. The difference between Palak Paneer and Saag Paneer is, in some cases, consistency. Palak is watery compared to a more solid saag/ Mustard green.

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch fresh spinach, washed thoroughly
2 large yellow or red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 piece ginger (4 inches) peeled and roughly chopped
1 garlic head, peeled and chopped or 2 tbsp garlic paste
5 green, Thai, Serrano or cayenne chilies  stemmed
4 tbsp. ground cumin1 heaping tbsp. garam masala
2 tsp. turmeric powder
Fresh cream 1tbsp
1 tbsp. salt



DIRECTION

Microwave the spinach with 1 cup of water for 6 minutes. In the meantime put the onion and garlic in a blender and make a paste.
Blend the spinach until smooth in a blender or transfer to a blender and do the same. 

Put every ingredient in the slow cooker except fresh cream and Paneer. Stir it well and set the slow cooker for 2hrs on high. After 1 and 1/2 hrs put the paneer. I prefer to put fried paneers instead of fresh ones. If you want to fry the paneer, saute cubed paneer in a skillet with 2tbsp oil over medium heat for 2 minutes.
Garnish it with cream.
Serve it with Indian bread or plain rice.

Slow cooker Gajar Halwa (Carrot Pudding)

This is a sweet carrot pudding associated mainly with the state of Punjab in India & Pakistan but is practically made everywhere in India on special occasions.
Yes, this the same gajar ka halwa that every Bollywood film mother croons about how her daughter- in- law should make it because it’s her son’s favourite dish. This filmi gajar ka halwa had me enthralled.




The one thing that I don’t like about gajar ka halwa is that there’s always a mound of carrots to be grated and I have grated many a finger in the process. I have seen my mother toiling away peeling mounds of carrots for years. 
So now I just prefer baby carrots, they are easier to grind and cook and are more sweeter than bigger carrots . Baby carrots may also lessen the cooking time.


Also along the years I have figured out to eliminate the standing time while cooking by usng my slow cooker. Believe me if you have a baby as bright eyed and bushy-tailed as mine you will not mind the extended time of cooking while it get cooked unattented and you can relish a warm bowl of carrot pudding in the morning.....Yum!!!

HISTORY 
The Gajar ka Halwa was first introduced by the Sikh traders of the Punjab during the Mughal period and the name originates from an Arabic word "Halwa", which means "sweet" and it is made from carrot ( Gajar in Hindi) so the name Gajar ka Halwa (meaning pudding of carrot or Halwa of carrot). Gajar ka Halwa originally contained carrots, milk and ghee but nowadays includes many other ingredients like mava (Khoya). This age old traditional recipe remained in Punjabi cook books for many years. Being a combination of milk and carrots it is known as Milk Flavored Gajar Ka Halwa but in the other case, the combination of cream or mava (Khoya) and carrot is described as Mava flavored Gajar ka Halwa.

RECIPE Ingredients:
2 pounds carrots, peeled and washed thoroughly
2 cans of evaporated milk or 6 cups of milk
2 cups sugar or 5 cups stevia or splenda (artificial sweetener)
1 cup raw almonds, crushed or chopped
1/2 cup melted ghee or butter
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon ground pistachios
1 tablespoon ground almonds


Directions:

 Grate the carrots  in a food processor. (I've found that the pre-grated, store-bought carrots are not worth using because they are grated too thick and too long.) Put the carrots in the slow cooker.
Bring the milk to a boil on the stove top and pour it over the carrots in the slow cooker. If you are using evaporated milk just pour it on the carrot.
Cook for 3 hours on high. Remove the slow cooker lid and cook for another 3 hours on high. Replace the lid, but leave it slightly open and cook on slow for 6 hrs or high for 3 more hours.
( I generally start at 6 pm and by 12 pm before going to bed set it for 6 hrs on low. Do the rest in the morning.)
The carrots will be cooked and will look soft and watery. Add the sugar and continue cooking in high for 15 minutes. 
(If you are using milk instead of evaporated milk, you have to cook in a skillet for 15 minutes at this stage and not in the slow cooker because the milk is much watery than evaporated milk.)
Add the crushed almonds and the ghee or butter. Add the raisins and ground cardamom and  stir
Add the sugar and continue cooking, stirring, for another 5 minutes in the slow cooker. 
Garnish with the ground pistachio and almonds.