Recipe: Chicken Vindaloo in a Slow Cooker

This recipe for Chicken Vindaloo in a slow cooker comes from Lydia Walshin’s theperfectpantry.com The Accidental Locavore’s friend Wendy Hanson (did you catch me on her radio show?) introduced me to Lydia a couple of months ago and I’ve been following her blog since. How could you resist a recipe for chicken vindaloo especially one done in a slow cooker? Like the pad Thai recipe from a couple of weeks ago, this is going to look like a lot of spices you don’t have, however the truth is you probably have most of them, the turmeric is a superfood and once you’ve got them, spices are good for a few months, if stored properly. This is pretty hot stuff, if you’re not into big heat add the chiles one at a time, and taste it as you go. Serving mango chutney will also help with some of the heat.

Lydia adapted this from The Indian Slow Cooker, I’ve only tweaked it a little and used local chicken.  It serves 6 over basmati rice. If you’re going to make this and run out the door, give yourself 30 minutes for prep before it hits the slow cooker. I don’t see why you couldn’t do this the night before and keep it covered in the fridge until you were ready to pop it in the slow cooker.

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 large onions, cut in half and thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (out of all the vinegar I have, no plain white wine. I used 2 TBSP white balsamic, and 1 TBSP white vinegar, cider vinegar would probably work fine too)
• 1 4″ piece ginger, peeled and cut into chunks (recently I’ve given up peeling ginger, especially when it’s going to be dumped into a food processor)
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• 5 dried Thai or serrano chiles, stems removed (I used 5 fresh Thai chiles and it was HOT)
• 1/2 tablespoon turmeric
• 1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
  
• 1/2 tablespoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt (kosher salt would be fine here)
• 1/2 tablespoon brown or black mustard seeds
• 2 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken cut into 1″ pieces, use whatever you like, white meat, dark or a mix

Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a large frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is warm add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are browned, but not burned about 5 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and cook, stirring to pick up the browned bits from the pan, until the liquid evaporates.

While the onions are browning, put the ginger, garlic, chiles, turmeric, coriander, garam masala, and cinnamon in a food processor. Process until it’s pureed. Add to the slow cooker. When the onions are done, add them to the food processor and puree. Add to the slow cooker. Put the peppercorns, sea salt, and mustard seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and crush together to a coarse powder. Add to the slow cooker.

Add the chicken, and 1/4 cup of water. Stir to combine everything. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Serve with steamed basmati rice and enjoy!

If you wanted lamb vindaloo, I’m sure you could use 2 pounds of lamb shoulder cut into 1″ chunks, that’s my next attempt. Or substitute vegetables, like cauliflower, eggplant, potatoes, and make it vegetarian.