Slow Cooker Chicken Curry - The Easiest EVER recipe! (2024)

FAQs

How to thicken up chicken curry in a slow cooker? ›

Cornstarch, potato starch, and chickpea flour are a couple of pantry-friendly ways to thicken soups, stews, and sauces in the slow cooker. Just a tablespoon or two of any — added towards the end of cooking — will thicken sauces especially well.

This easy to make beef curry uses a jar of curry sauce and is cooked in the slow cooker. Just pop the ingredients in the slow cooker, switch on and leave to cook slowly.

I am often asked if you can put coconut milk in a crockpot—the answer is yes, but not until the end of the recipe. I repeat, do not add coconut milk to a slow cooker right at the beginning; it will curdle as the recipe cooks.

You can use raw chicken too, or prawns, pork, beef or a meaty fish. It's a super fast way to make a delicious Indian curry.

Once the spices and veg have cooked, add in the coconut milk and a couple cups of chicken stock. Turn the heat up so it comes to a boil and then lower to about medium heat and cook for 10-15 minutes. Just until it starts to thicken! I normally do 10 minutes, but if you like a really thick sauce, take it longer.

Take the lid off

Place the cooker on a high setting, and open the lid for 30-45 minutes to let excess moisture cook off. The liquid will reduce, leaving you with a thick and delicious gravy or sauce. (Tip: This trick can also be applied for thickening stews, or when you've accidentally added too much liquid.)

A cornstarch slurry is a mixture of a cold liquid with cornstarch. It is used as a thickening agent, and is particularly common in Asian sauces. As a rule of thumb, dissolve 2 parts cold water and 1 part cornstarch. Add the slurry to your sauce as it simmers in the slow cooker.

Unlike other cooking appliances, you can leave food in a slow cooker unattended for hours at a time. This is what makes them so useful as a kitchen tool; you can pop your favorite meal in to cook in the morning, then return home after a busy day at work to freshly cooked, delicious food.

Yes, you can put raw chicken in a slow cooker! Slow cookers and Crock-Pots are designed to cook raw meats. The direct heat from the pot, lengthy cooking time and steam created from the tightly covered container destroys bacteria, making slow cooking safe. You can put frozen chicken in a slow cooker, too!

Creamy ingredients (whether they're dairy or non-dairy) can split in a slow cooker. Avoid adding milk, cream, yoghurt, coconut cream or coconut milk at the beginning of cooking as it can end up curdled and grainy. For the best results, stir through at the end of the cooking time and warm through gently without boiling.

Can you overcook curry in a slow cooker? ›

Slow cookers are specially designed to cook food for long periods of time, but yes, you can still overcook in a slow cooker if something is left on the wrong setting for longer than it's supposed to be.

Coconut Cream vs Coconut Milk

Compared to normal coconut milk, coconut cream has a much higher fat content, containing around 19-22% fat. Coconut cream still retains the delicious coconut flavor that coconut milk has, but is much thicker as it is essentially coconut milk with less water.

​​Add spices​

The easiest way to fix a bland and tasteless curry is by adding spices like red chili powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala, curry leaves and turmeric. Just make a quick tempering and pour over the curry to give it a nice punch of spices and herbs.

If we wash chicken in cold water before putting it into pressure cooker/ any other equipment, it will get rubbery. So, in my suggestion always wash chicken in hot water for non-rubbery ones. Cooking chicken in a curry can be a tricky process, as many people find that the chicken can become rubbery and unappetizing.

There are several ways to thicken curry sauces and avoid making them too runny or watery. One option is to add dairy such as Greek yogurt, heavy cream, or coconut cream . Another option is to add ground nuts like cashews or almonds to the sauce . A roux made with flour and butter is also an effective thickener.

Make a slurry.

Scoop out a bit of the cooking liquid, whisk in some flour, then whisk this slurry back into your pot and continue to simmer until the sauce thickens and the taste of raw flour is gone. You will need about 2 tablespoons of flour per cup of liquid in your recipe.

A cornstarch slurry is a mixture of a cold liquid with cornstarch. It is used as a thickening agent, and is particularly common in Asian sauces. As a rule of thumb, dissolve 2 parts cold water and 1 part cornstarch. Add the slurry to your sauce as it simmers in the slow cooker.

Add water or milk

Usually, very thick curries are more prone to lumps. To dilute the curries a bit, you can add either water or milk, depending on the type of dish that you are making. Using milk adds sweetness and richness to the curry as well.