Day 29 - Friday Night Curry

I decided to give my slow cooker another bash today after yesterday's slightly disappointing affair. Gerry had been through my recipe book and noted that she quite fancied a curry and since it was after all a Friday night I thought it was a good plan. I checked the cupboards and found I had just the right ingredients for a Kashmiri Butter Chicken.  There was a little bit of prep involved before I could add it into the slow cooker so I got cracking.

• First up, I roughly chopped 2 onions, 4cm of peeled fresh ginger, 3 garlic cloves and a quarter of a green chilli (seeds removed).  This was all whizzed up in a food processor until it made a fairly smooth paste. 
• I then chopped up 3 chicken breasts into bite size chunks, not too small though as I didn't want them to break away into nothing. I heated 1tbsp of groundnut oil in a wok and cooked the chicken pieces over a high heat until they were all nicely browned.  These were then drained and set aside on a plate. 
• Next I added 1oz (25g) butter into the wok and cooked the onion paste over a medium heat until it just started to colour. I then removed it from the heat briefly while I stirred in a symphony of spices - 1tsp crushed cumin seeds, 1tsp crushed fennel seeds, 4 crushed cardamom pods, 1tsp paprika, 1/4tsp ground cinnamon, 1tsp turmeric, 1tsp garam masala, 1/4tsp mild chilli powder and a few red chilli flakes. 

Spice Selection

• This mixture was cooked for a further minute until the final ingredients of 1/2pint chicken stock, 2tbsp tomato puree and 1tbsp brown sugar were added and brought to the boil, stirring all the time.
• I transferred the chicken to the slow cooker and poured the onion mixture and sauce over the top, making sure all the chicken pieces were below the surface of the liquid. I popped the lid on and cooked on low for just over 5 hours.
• Ten minutes before plating up I steamed some fine green beans and basmati rice to serve with it. 
• Finally, just before serving, I added in 2tbsp of half-fat creme fraiche to the curry to give it a nice golden appearance.  I garnished with some finely sliced spring onions and had intended to toast some flaked almonds to top it all off but promptly forgot! 

Dinner was served and my oh my, the second slow cooker attempt was so much better than the first! It was creamy with just the right amount of spice and it had a deliciously silky texture. Also, the quantity of ingredients I had used was enough for 4 people so half of it will go in the freezer for another time, which is certainly something to look forward to. Gerry said it's a definite keeper.  However, next time I would make one slight change and use boneless, skinless chicken thighs because I think it would withstand the longer cooking process better than breast and because it's simply a cut with more flavour. However, I used what I had and it still turned out brilliantly!  I'm a happy little cook tonight.

Kashmiri Butter Chicken

Kashmiri Curry & Rice