Indian Almond Chicken with Peas in Slow Cooker

Indian Almond Chicken with Peas is a simple slow cooker meal that makes use of almond butter, something many of us have in our pantry. Affiliate links have been used in this post when linking to items I am discussing.

It turns out, as a food blogger, Pier 1 is not a safe store for me. I went crazy there! Look at that magnificent green glass! (Am I the only one who loves sticking colored glass in my photos?) And now I have napkins! Bright colored solid napkins! I dragged my kids through the whole store, with them one minute trying to convince me to buy the most garish dishes imaginable and the next minute complaining because “You said it would only be a minute while you grabbed some napkins, Mom!!!”

But you guys gotta admit the napkins and glass are pretty fabulous.

And so springy! Happy Spring, guys! March is such a hopeful month. You just gotta roll with the punches (snow in the forecast for Monday) because that green is just around the corner!

This is another fabulous slow cooker dish from The Everything Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook: Includes Pineapple Raita, Tandoori Chicken Wings, Mulligatawny Soup, Lamb Vindaloo, Five-Spice Strawberry Chutney…and hundreds more! by Prerna Singh. The other dish was that outstanding Mushrooms and Peas Curry.  Both of these dishes are quite rich, but that is just a coincidence, what I happened to pick both times. No it is not a fancy book, it has no photos, but it is full of endless ideas for Indian dishes that are absolutely effortless when you make them in the slow cooker. If you like Indian food at all I highly recommend this book. And if you like shredded chicken dishes at all I highly recommend this curry. We all loved it, and Alex especially went bonkers for it. I do recommend serving it with a salad or light vegetable dish of some sort. One quick note: if the tamarind is difficult for you to find, I recommend adding fresh lime juice to taste at the end instead.

5 from 1 vote

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Indian Almond Chicken with Peas

Adapted from Prerna Singh

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Curry, Indian

Author: TheSpicedLife

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken pieces, at least half dark meat
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2-3 T vegetable oil
• 3 whole cloves
• 8 whole black peppercorns
• 2 t cumin seeds
• 3 medium-small onions, thinly sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 2-inch knob ginger, minced
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1/2 t paprika
• 1/2 t coarse aleppo chile pepper, plus more to taste
• 2 t garam masala, divided
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 t coarse sea salt
• 1/2 cup (heaping) whole milk yogurt
• 5 oz almond butter--all natural
• 1 T heavy whipping cream
• 1 T tamarind concentrate
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1 8-10 oz bag frozen peas, thawed

Instructions

1. Heat the oil over medium high heat in either a stovetop-safe slow cooker insert or in a large frying pan. Add the whole cloves and peppercorns. Let roast in the oil until becoming fragrant and then add the cumin seeds (cumin seeds burn more easily). Let roast all together for about 30-60 seconds, stirring, until quite fragrant.
2. Add the chicken and brown it, in batches if need be to avoid steaming. Remove the chicken and set aside.
3. Add the onions with a pinch of salt. Let cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of water if needed to prevent scorching or sticking.
4. Add the garlic and ginger. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes.
5. Add the turmeric, paprika, coarse aleppo and 1 teaspoon of the garam masala. Stir for 30 seconds.
6. Add the water and salt and stir in.
7. Return the slow cooker insert to the slow cooker base or pour the sauce into the slow cooker insert. Add the browned chicken with accumulated juices and stir to cover a bit with the sauce.
8. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 3-6 hours (it will be ready after 3 hours but can go longer if you need it to).
9. Add the yogurt and almond butter. Make sure the almond butter especially mixes into the sauce. (In the process of mixing you will probably end up shredding the chicken--if not and you want it shredded, just shred before serving.) Cook on low for another 2 hours on low or on high for 1 hour.
10. minutes before serving, stir in the heavy whipping cream, tamarind concentrate, brown sugar, peas and 1 more teaspoon of garam masala. Let cook another 15 minutes.
11. Before serving, taste for more salt, brown sugar, tamarind or garam masala.
12. Serve with basmati rice or flatbread.

For the collage fans…