As the crock pot challenge continues, I am finding myself loving my crock pot more and more. It makes dinner so incredibly easy that I am now looking at every recipe I come across and wondering whether or not it could be converted into a crock pot recipe.
When I asked you guys about your favorite Indian dishes last Sunday, a bunch of you encouraged me to try chicken tikka masala. Yesterday I found a recipe for the dish on Gina’s blog and figured it could be a crock pot contender.
I combined everything in the crock pot (I used light coconut milk in place of the milk) and let it cook on low for about six hours yesterday. When it was done, I shredded the chicken and put it back in the crock pot with the sauce. Ryan and I ate it over brown rice and thought it was delicious. (I know you’re not supposed to shred the chicken in traditional chicken tikka masala, but I wanted it to get as much flavor from the sauce as possible.)
It also made for a flavorful lunch when I reheated the leftovers this afternoon.
I would love to try this dish at a real Indian restaurant because I have a feeling it would be fantastic.
Yum!
Question of the Afternoon
- Have you ever successfully transformed a traditional recipe into a crock-pot friendly recipe? Feel free to link to any favorites in the comments section of this post!
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That looks soo good! I was just reading your fitness faqs and was wondering what type of hip stretches you do? Whenever I start any form of cardio my hips hurt and I’m not sure how to prevent a hip injury.
here are some of my favorites: https://www.pbfingers.com/2012/04/04/hip-stretches/ i hope this helps!
That looks pretty amazing! I’m kind of obsessed with Indian dishes, I hardly make them but they are SO delicious. Between that and Mexican those two are my top choices always!
Hm, I haven’t quite yet, but I’m going to try making overnight oats in the crockpot which I’m a little excited for!
Lisa, you’ll have to tell me how that goes! I just recently made some and it was a diaster 🙁 I’d love to find a good overnight oats recipe for the crockpot, though.
Try Alton Browns oatmeal recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/overnight-oatmeal-recipe/index.html
I don’t use the figs and I have made many different versions using only water or milk or almond milk. Also really good to dice up a couple of apples and add some cinnamon.
Delicious
Thanks, girl! I’ll give this a try sometime.
I’m horribly afraid to experiment with recipes, let alone crockpot ones. But I also find that I am in love with my crockpot now! It just makes life and dinner so much easier.
So far I have stuck with meals that are made for the crock pot, but I love how easy it makes prepping dinner for the week! It is such a time saver!! I have toyed with attempting things like oats, eggplant parm, lasagna, mac n cheese, and fish in the crock-pot but I have yet to give it a try! I think that I am going to have just suck it up and start converting though!!
I have loved your crockpot dishes up until now, but I just don’t think that chicken tikka masala was mean to be cooked in a slow cooker (or shredded). The best part about the dish is the sauce, and it looks like yours is all chicken and no sauce! You should definitely try it at an Indian restaurant so you will know what to aspire to.
i definitely will. i liked the flavors a lot, so i have a feeling i’d love it!
I love the crockpot! I am so glad to hear you are a convert now. I made Tikka Masala in the crockpot once. I think I need to add it to the menu again.
You can make almost anything in the crock pot that you can make on the stovetop. You just have to reduce the liquid because there won’t be any evaporation. My favorite converted crock pot recipe is this slow cooker risotto recipe: http://www.kellytheculinarian.com/2012/04/cooking-with-kelly-crockpot-risotto.html
I try to make EVERYTHING in the crock pot! 😉 My most recent was pork shoulder with Stubbs pork marinade…. a little different than your normal BBQ pulled pork. I am ususally not a “bottled sauce” or marinade type girl (I prefer to make it myself!) but this was outstanding…. literally just any cut of pork with the marinade. AMazing!
The only thing better than chicken tikka masala is chicken tikka masala with garlic butter naan!
I just made this recipe yesterday and it is blowing my mind. it made so much that I gave jars to my co-workers this morning. I’m hoping I don’t regret this decision later. It’s not a meal – but it’s definitely worth the effort to have apple butter to add to my oatmeal, toast, etc.
http://ohsheglows.com/2012/09/26/slow-cooker-naked-apple-butter/
Im glad you tried the tikki masala, its my favorite!!
Mmm, Indian food is always delicious when made in the crock pot. It really give the flavors time to simmer and meld together. You’re quickly becoming a crock pot master! I need to use mine more often!
I haven’t had the guts to ‘convert’ anything since I’m not a great cook to begin with, but you have inspired me to use the crock pot much more! I get so excited about new recipes.
BTW, could you post the recipe for the Chicken Tikka Masala, I want to try it this week if possible.
hi holly! it is actually linked in the above post, but here’s a direct link, too: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/06/skinny-chicken-tikka-masala.html hope this helps! gina’s recipes are great!
I actually took your idea last night and went straight to the grocery with Gina’s website open on my iPhone. I got all of the ingredients and threw them in the crockpot. I also cooked mine overnight and added even more chicken (like 2 lbs), so I added more milk, more yogurt, and more spices! I ended up with a lot of “broth” aka the awesome stuff that goes over the rice, and when I tasted it this morning it was fantastic! The “real” recipe is better, of course, because everything tastes better with fat! But tis truly wonderful to know I don’t have to limit my serving size like I do when we get Indian take out. Oh, and to “beef” the dish up a bit, add bell peppers (green) and other veggies (I’m thinking green beans) at the end of cooking (so they stay crunchy and healthy)!
we added more chicken, too!
I love Indian food in the right moments–so this would be fun to try! 🙂
This weekend I roasted a whole chicken in a crockpot for the hubby and I and it was flippin’ fantastic!!!
Here is the link to my recipe for a whole chicken in a slow cooker:
http://www.thevegetablelife.com/2013/02/can-you-cook-whole-chicken-in-slow.html
Did you use the yogurt? I can’t mix dairy and meat, so using the lite coconut milk is a good substitute for the milk, but I wasn’t sure what to do about the yogurt–was it necessary? I want to try this!
i think the yogurt is key for some of the creaminess, but if you can’t have it, i still think you’d enjoy the flavors. you might want to add more vegetables or something though!
I had found a recipe on Cooking Light that I thought you might like for Slow Cooker. It follows the same flavor profiles you’ve been leaning towards. It’s called : Thai Red Curry Beef:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/thai-red-curry-beef-50400000124217/
I tried it a few weeks ago and I will definitely be making it again. I just served it on some brown rice but next time I am definitely going to have it with Naan!
that sounds great! thanks for the link!
Love crockpots… I’m making some pulled pork on Wednesday, already excited about it!
I love your blog and I look forward to getting it in my inbox everyday! I’ve been looking for some new blogs to read and have been asking my favorite bloggers for their must read bloggers! Suggestions?
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Crock pot lasagna! Oh. My. Gosh! it was so simple and tasted AMAZING, although I burnt the edges a little bit, but I think that’s supposed to happen with lasagna anyway 😉 I don’t have a link to it, but here’s the recipe, in a nutshell.
1/4 tomato sauce on bottom
layer of lasagna noodles
ricotta cheese
pesto
spinach, mushrooms
cheese
sauce
repeat until the crockpot is full
add a little water to your leftover sauce, shake it up, dump over your lasagna
cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours and enjoy.
crock pot lasagna has been on my “must make” list for months!
Do it! Its awesome!!
You can’t go wrong shredding chicken to let it absorb more sauce! I love using my crockpot! One of my favorite meals is chili!
Pumpkin turkey chili can be made in the crockpot or on the stove. It’s by far one of my favorite chili recipies loaded with spices and veggies.
http://fruitnfitness.com/2013/02/01/swimming-pumpkin-turkey-chili-and-banana-muffins/
I took a traditional applesauce recipe and made a few changes and threw it in the crockpot! It made the flavors super rich. It’s hard to eat regular applesauce now, because the crockpot makes it so much better.
http://fitsouffle.com/home/best-new-meal-in-a-jar-healthy-and-delicious
The crock pot challenge has been the best thing to happen to my kitchen all year! I’ve tried 6 new recipes so far – I’m hoping I can make it to 10 by the end of the month. My most recent success was crock pot bread! It was so soft and delicious, and a few minutes under the broiler gave it a nice crispy crust.
http://shewinessometimes.com/2013/02/10/the-best-bread-ever-2-ways-dutch-oven-and-crock-pot/
I love reading your recipes and ideas. I’m still too nervous to break mine out 🙂
I’ve never tried an Indian dish in the crock-pot, or at all! But I love Indian food so I’ll have to try it out!
I try to put everything in my crockpot.. it’s so easy and it makes the house smell amazing!!
I was totally on board with the crock pot challenge and fell off the wagon! This recipe looks delicious!
Really do wish I could get into the crock pot, it SOUNDS so great in theory…but I think it’s one of those “in” things that just doesn’t do it for me, lol.
Um my mouth is watering. That looks so good!
I grew up with an AGA which is an oven from England that always on! My mom always was making recipes that took hours of cooking. I didn’t realize till I moved out that I either needed her oven or a crock pot lol. Because of this, I can pretty much transfer any soup recipe to a crock pot recipe!
Yum! Looks so awesome! Love that you shredded it for extra flavor too.
I made “stir fry” in the crock pot on Saturday. The veggies were a little mushy, but the flavor was great. Slow cookers are the best!
sigh. crock pots are just about the best thing around, aren’t they?
I am pretty lame with my crock pot, lol. I should probably use it more often!
I just found this recipe and I think it will definitely be my next crock pot meal!!
http://queenbeecoupons.com/crock-pot-slow-cooker-quinoa-chicken-chili-recipe/
Yummm I’m buying a crock pot this weekend and love love love Indian food!!
I just got a crock pot for Christmas and I’ve started stockpiling recipes to make. I’m not a huge fan of Indian food, but I’m kind of intrigued by this recipe, so I think I’ll give it a shot 🙂
Indian food is so awesome. I love that you have been sharing so many great slow cooker Indian-inspired recipes lately. Keep ’em coming!! 🙂
Haha you are crock pot obsessed!
You’re becoming a crock pot champ! I am so motivated to invest in one now!
I have absolutely loved the crock pot challenge! i am using mine even more than I was before! I am thankful for the introduction to indian food! One of my new favorites is the simple side of baked potatoes or baked sweet potatoes. It works beautifully in the crock. Oil crock and potatoes if you wish, poke potatoes with holes, throw them in and cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-6. Perfect!
I never use a crock pot because I feel like it is mostly for meats, which I don’t eat. I have looked at a few recipes here and there but nothing to sell me on the idea.
On another note, I LOVE Indian food. I come close with the flavors at home, but it is just never the same as the restaurant.
This is a definite must try! Have you ever placed your cooked chicken in your kitchen aid and used it to shred your chicken? I do this with Mexican chicken and it makes the perfect shredded chicken everytime!
That looks delicious! I, too, have become a Crock Pot convert. In fact, I have a meal cooking away at home right now!
Good timing! Here’s my favorite converted recipe: http://janieliz19.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/crockpotchallenge-corn-bisque-with-red-pepper/
I have a friend of a friend whose specialty is making pretty much any Indian food in a rice cooker. That’s talent!
I rarely use mine, i need to find some good recipes!!
Chicken Tikka Masala is my favorite Indian dish. I espeically love “Special Chicken Tikka Masala” because they add peppers and onions to it!
This is great JB!! Indian is one of Pete and I’s(I don’t this is correct grammar) top 3 favorite foods genres! We eat it all the time! I like masala but most of my favorite dishes are vegetarian. I am not a fan of paneer however which looks like cubes of tofu but is actually cheese (kind of like a cube of cottage cheese). I can reccomend great Indian in Orlando if u go down there or you and Ryan will just have to come up to NYC for dinner 🙂 xoxo