Chicken Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken)

This is a completely new type of food for our household, but my dad swears it is really good.  He said it is one of his favorite Indian dishes so I figured why not???  This is a crock pot meal so that makes it worth trying in my book.  I love my crock pot and anything I can use it for makes me happy.  I found this recipe on A Year of Slow Cooking.  I made a couple slight modifications using what I had on hand for the recipe. 

I must say my dad did not fail me.  This was AMAZING!  Everyone loved it and there were not any leftovers.  Even my picky three old who thinks he can only eat chicken nuggets and hot dogs enjoyed it.  That says a lot to me.  With the amount of sauce I could have really added four more chicken breasts and doubled the rice to have some leftovers.  Next time I make it I will have to do that so we have some for lunch the next day.  I love how this was so easy to make, but has so much depth of flavors.  I am just sad that it took me almost 30 years to make this let alone try it...YUM!

Chicken Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken)
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Onion, sliced
3 tsp Minced Garlic (or 6 cloves minced)
4 TBS Butter
1/2 tsp Ground Cardamom
2 tsp Curry Powder
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1 Can of Coconut Milk
1 Can Tomato Paste (6 oz)
2 TBS Lemon Juice
1 Cup Plain Yogurt

1. Put chicken in crock pot and then layer onions, garlic, and dry spices on top of chicken
2. Add butter and tomato paste by dropping in various sections (I placed 1 TBS butter and 2 spoonfuls of tomato paste on each piece of chicken)
3. Add lemon juice and coconut milk.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours until chicken is cooked and tender.  About an hour or so into cooking give it a quick mix to blend all the ingredients
4. Add 1 cup plain yogurt when done cooking.  Mix well and serve over basmati rice. 

Basmati Rice
1 Cup Basmati Rice
1-1/2 Cups Water
1/4 tsp Salt
Couple drops of oil

1. Rinse the rice 3-5 times by filling a bowl with clean, cold water.  Swirl your finger around the bowl to help rinse the rice.
2. Soak the rice for 15-20 minutes in clean, cold water.
3. Bring 1-1/2 cups water to a boil
4. Add salt, oil, and rice bring back to a boil.  Cover reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 7-8 minutes DO NOT remove the cover!  When done cooking fluff with a fork.  You can add any additional spices if you wish right before serving.

We served ours over basmati rice with a side of creamy cucumbers.  The cucumbers were made with 1 cucumber peeled and sliced, 1/2 cup yogurt, 1 thin sliced small onion,  1 tsp dill, 1 tsp sugar, and 2 TBS cider vinegar mixed together and set in the fridge to chill and blend flavors.  Super simple and a great compliment to the dish.  There is an Indian dish called Raita which looked similar so I made my good ole' American standby.  I can guarantee that I will be making some sort of Raita in the future. 

I love having successful dinners like tonight.  I hope there are many more to come as we broaden our horizons and begin to try different types of foods.  :)   

Come check out all the recipes or link up your own.  This is a great way to swap recipes and this months theme is slow cookers.  So every Thursday head over to find what great recipes you can find using your slow cooker!

We'd love to have you join us. Add your link below and if you haven't already, please visit our new Dishing It Up website for info on upcoming recipe hops and how to add the linky list to your own post!

1.	Sweet Potato Chili	24.	5 Minute Onion Mushroom Pork Chops
2.	Crockpot Tomale Pie	25.	Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
3.	Easy Vegetable Beef Soup	26.	Train Wreck Soup (Don't Waste a Scrap)
4.	Crockpot Beef Stroganoff	27.	Triple Chocolate Brownies
5.	Cashew Chicken	28.	Sweet & Tangy Chicken
6.	BBQ Chicken	29.	Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
7.	3 Ingredient Hawaiian Chicken	30.	Pumpkin Butter
8.	Chicken Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken)	31.	Spicy Sausage & Cabbage Soup
9.	Easy Crockpot Chicken Posole	32.	Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup
10.	Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot	33.	Ranch House Porck Chops
11.	Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef	34.	Teriyaki chicken lettuce wraps
12.	Leek and Potato Soup	35.	BBQ'd Country Style Ribs
13.	Crockpot Hamburger Casserole	36.	Thai Style Pork Stew
14.	Chicken Tortilla Soup	37.	Apple Butter
15.	Pork Stew	38.	Invented Chicken & Rice
16.	Slow Cooker Southwest Hominy and Turkey Sausage Stew	39.	Slow Cooker Beef Goulash w/Egg Noodles
17.	Burgundy Mushrooms	40.	Slow Cooker Chicken Philly Subs
18.	Italian Stew Beef	41.	Italian Creamy Chicken
19.	Pork Tenderloin	42.	Slow Cooker Gumbo
20.	Momtrends: Kung Pao	43.	Beef Tips with Rice
21.	Black Beans	44.	Pulled Pork
22.	Chicken Cacciatore	45.	Easy Lemon Crockpot Chicken
23.	Slow Cooker Classic Beef Stew

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