We love Indian food. There is a place right by our house that we love to go to, but they take FOREVER! We’ve learned not to go there when you are already hungry because it will be at least an hour before you eat. My Fiancee had a hankering for some Tiki Masala this weekend so instead of spending two hours and $50 bucks on dinner, I decided to try my hand at making it.

I scoured Pinterest for a recipe. I wound up combining/adapting a few to make this Tiki Masala. The number of ingredients is a little scary, but it’s actually very easy to make in the slow cooker. Just thrown them in, give it  a stir and four (or eight) hours later you’ve got amazing Tiki Masala which is dead on for the fancy Indian restaurant version.

I was stoked to make it in my Cuisinart MSC-600 3-In-1 Cook Central 6-Quart Multi-Cooker: Slow Cooker, Brown/Saute, Steamer

I received this beauty at my Bridal Shower and have already used it quite a few times. It’s a dream! With a non-stick surface, you can sauté your anything you need to without having to dirty another pan. Of course for the Tiki Masala I just used the slow cook function, but I still love using it.

Getting all fancy, I attempted to make Naan to accompany this dish but failed. Miserably. My guess is that the yeast was bad because the dough never rose. We ate it anyway, but it wasn’t anything to blog about.

The Tiki Masala on the other hand was fabulous! Served with Basmati rice, I will try the Naan again for a authentic Indian dinner. (Note in the pictures that I totally forgot to add the Cilantro)

Tiki Masala
Yields 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp freshly, finely grated ginger
• 1 jalapeno, chopped, seeds removed (if you don’t want this as spicy, you may omit or slice in half and remove the seeds and then pull at the end of cooking)
• 1 (29 oz) can tomato puree
• 1 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp Garam Masala (spice found in most grocery stores)
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1/2 Tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1-3 tsp cayenne pepper (Depending on how hot you’d like it. Can also be omitted)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• Chopped cilantro, for serving

Directions:

• In the crock pot combine chopped onions, minced garlic, grated ginger, sliced jalapeño, tomato puree, plain yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, Garam Masala, cumin, paprika, salt, cinnamon, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir until combined.
• Add the cubed chicken, stirring until all of the chicken is coated.
• Add the 2 bay leaves. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours (or high for 4 hours).
• With 30 minutes of cooking time left, whisk together heavy cream and cornstarch in a bowl.
• Pour the mixture into the slow cooker and gently stir. Allow mixture to cook 20 minutes while you prepare the rice.
• Remove bay leaves (sliced jalapeño) and serve over rice and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.