Slow cooker butter chicken
Mild, creamy, gently spiced butter chicken that simmers on its own all afternoon, then goes over fluffy basmati rice.
- 275 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $2.30 a serving
- 500 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1½ cups crushed tomatoes
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 3 tbsp butter, cubed
- 2 lb chicken breasts
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1½ cups basmati rice, rinsed
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 2 naan, warmed (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- 2¼ cups water
Each serving has about 500 calories, 40 g protein, 45 g carbs and 18 g fat, and costs about $2.30 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No basmati rice? Jasmine rice or long-grain white rice works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, the garlic and the ginger, and put them all in the slow cooker.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Dolly’s tip: Scrape the skin off the ginger with the edge of a spoon, then grate it on the small holes.in the crushed tomatoes, garam masala, curry powder, cumin, paprika, turmeric, 1 teaspoon of salt and the butter.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Nestle the chicken breasts into the sauce and spoon some over the top.
Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours, until the thickest breast reads 165°F.
Timer: 210 min
Dolly’s tip: Breasts go dry if they cook all day. Three to four hours on LOW is the sweet spot.Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
About 30 minutes before it’s done, put the rice in a medium with the water and ½ teaspoon of salt and bring it over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
once, cover, turn the heat to low and cook 15 minutes, then take it off the heat and leave the lid on.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Lift the chicken onto a board and cut it into bite-size chunks.
the cream into the sauce, add the chicken back, cover, and let it for 10 minutes.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Heat through. Heating through means warming food that’s already cooked until it’s hot all the way to the center. You’re not cooking it more, just making sure no part is still cold.
How you’ll know: It’s steaming, and a piece from the middle is hot, not lukewarm.
Timer: 10 min
Spoon the butter chicken over the rice and scatter the cilantro on top, with warm naan on the side if you like.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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