My love for the slow cooker is well-known by family and friends.  Sometimes, I get inspired (or desperate) based on the contents on my fridge and pantry, and I am overcome with a touch of desperation and creativity to experiment with something new.  The other night, when my fridge was flirting close to meme territory.

There were a few hours to go until dinner time so I immediately thought about the slow cooker and explored my cupboard for inspiration.  I found a forgotten bottle of Patak’s tikka masala paste in the pantry and quickly put together an impromptu slow cooker tikka masala.

(My husband and I don’t necessarily like to use canned paste and I prefer to create my own spices and flavours so it had been in the pantry for a while. However, as we were about to move, I was also looking to lighten the imminent packing in my future.)

I’ve seen recipes for Indian cuisine in the slow cooker before, but I’d never attempted it – my husband and I live in London and we have scouted out the best curry delivery after extensive testing over the years.  However, food delivery wasn’t very good for the waistlines or the wallet and part of the reason I love the slow cooker so much – it makes multiple homemade meals with minimal effort.

This slow cooker tikka masala recipe serves about 4-6, depending on the curry versus rice ratio of those in your household.  I tend to like less rice and more curry, so this recipe made about five servings for us – two dinners and a lunch for me later in the week.  The nutrition facts are based on four servings and about 60-90g of pilau rice per person.

A definite winner – my husband asked for me to send the recipe to a colleague as he raved about it the next day – and I was really impressed with the results, so this is one I’m saving again for the slow cooker rotation.

The Recipe

Slow Cooker Tikka Masala

Ingredients

• 1 (250g) bag of quorn chicken pieces (or real chicken if not veggie!)
• 1 jar of tikka masala paste (I used Patak’s Indian curry)
• 1 can (400g) diced or plum tomatoes
• 2 cups (100g) frozen peas
• 200ml water
• 1 garlic clove, diced or grated
• 1 tbps onion powder
• 1 tbps garlic powder
• coriander to taste
• pilau rice

Directions

Put everything into the slow cooker, in the order listed, except for the coriander and rice.  Cook rice when ready to directions on the packaging.

When ready to serve, dish up some pilau rice and top with fresh coriander; serve with pompadoms/naan as desired.

Time

Low for 4-5 hrs, High for 2 hours.

Nutrition

510 calories per serving, 4 servings

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