crockpot indian chicken curry

I love my crockpot. 

Wednesday nights are busy in our house, by the time my husband and I get home from work there isn't much time to cook a meal before heading back out the door for our weekly community group.  If I'm super organized I'll plan a crockpot meal, this week, gold star for me for being organized.  

We love Indian food and so I hunted down this recipe from over at A Year of Slow Cooking, which by the way is full of wonderful crockpot recipes.  I did adapt this recipe to include more curry, because I prefer a strong curry flavor and added a bit of greek yogurt which gave it creaminess and just the right amount of tang.

crockpot indian chicken curry

1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk (don't use the light, it doesn't taste as good)

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
4-6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (or breasts if you prefer)
1 T tomato paste

2 T Greek yogurt (I used Greek Gods yogurt which is gluten free)
4 T curry powder (not a typo, it's a lot, but it's good. Curry isn't spicy, just flavorful)
1 t ground coriander
1 t ground cumin
1 inch peeled and grated ginger
few dashes of hot sauce (I used Crystals)
1 medium yellow onion chopped
2 or 3 cloves of smashed and chopped garlic
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 of an eggplant, chopped (I didn't peel)
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped

1 cup peas / raisins each (added last 30 minutes - optional)

Here's what you do:

Assemble all of your spices, coconut milk, hot sauce, tomato paste, greek yogurt . Combine the sauce ingredients in the bottom of your crockpot. The sauce will be a lovely yellow.

Add the chicken, flipping it over a few times to coat it nicely. Pour in the garbanzo beans.

Wash and chop all of the vegetables, and then add to the crockpot. Don't worry about stirring them in the sauce. Let them sit on top of the chicken and steam away.

Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, last 30 minutes of cooking throw in your peas and raisins if desired.

Stir carefully to mix flavors. 

Serve over quinoa (or rice if you're not gluten free).

The outcome: melt in your mouth goodness, the flavors all came together and balanced each other and the raisins added just the right amount of sweetness.