Slow Cooker Buttery Indian Chicken Stew

Close your eyes. Hmm, then you can’t read this. OK, scratch that, don’t close your eyes but envision having one of those really bad days at work. Nothing seemed to go right, you didn’t get what you wanted done because your boss dropped a pile of busywork on your desk in the morning and by the time you got through with it all, it was already 5.

I’m getting anxious just thinking about it!

So now, picture getting to your front door, opening it and suddenly being hit with the warm aroma of Buttery Indian Chicken Stew that has been slow cooking in the crock-pot all day.  It’s those moments that, for a brief moment, make you forget about the hellish day you just had.  

Cooking a meal in a slow cooking crock-pot is extremely easy and will not only provide you with a delicious meal, but with a few leftovers to make lunch the next day pretty sweet as well. We reverse engineered this recipe from our favorite Indian food place and created our “What’s the Curry?” Spice Blend specifically to take advantage of the multitude of spices this dish calls for. Think of our Blend as the ultimate cheat sheet to get that incredible Indian flavor without having to search high and low for every single spice. Doing that is a pain in the tookus that'll cost you considerably more.

The prep work for this recipe can be done the night before so in the morning, you can just dump it all in the crock-pot before you leave for the day. How awesome is that!?

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2" pieces.
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2-2 1/2 tablespoons What's the Curry Spice Blend (use larger measurement for a stronger flavor.
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 2-4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 red  bell pepper cut into 1" pieces
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 1/2-3 tablespoons butter (salter or unsalted, no biggie)
• 2, 15 oz cans of garbanzo beans aka chickpeas (make sure to rinse them out and drain excess liquid before adding.
• 2 14 1/2 - ounce can diced tomatoes (don't drain these)
• 1, 9 oz package fresh spinach (optional)
• 1 bay leaf (optional)
• This dish is awesome on a bed of jasmine rice. It's completely optional though, the dish is awesome on its own.

Here's what you do:

1. Throw everything in except the lime juice and spinach.
2. Stir to coat everything.
3. Set crock-pot to low, cover and cook for 8-10 hours
4. Go to work, take a nap, learn to needlepoint, who cares, whatever takes up your time!
5. Squeeze in lime juice and stir in spinach.
6. Let sit 5-8 more minutes if you can handle the wait.
7. Devour!

Let us know how it  turned out! We love to see your creations on Instagram #WaywardGourmet and Twitter @WaywardGourmet. We'll post your deliciousness on our site!

Cheers!