Two pounds of chicken thigh in inch-and-a-half pieces with onion, garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, smoked paprika, turmeric and a can of tomato sauce, all in the cooker at once.
Four hours on LOW, then a cup of cottage cheese blended completely smooth with half a cup of water is stirred in and warmed through for ten to fifteen minutes.
Why This Recipe Works
- The cottage cheese is blended, not stirred. Blended with water it becomes a smooth, high-protein cream that behaves like the dairy a masala usually gets; unblended it stays as curds and never disperses.
- It goes in at the very end and is only warmed. Ten to fifteen minutes on LOW is enough to heat it and short enough not to split it — this is the step people miss.
- Two tablespoons of garam masala is a generous amount and it needs the four hours. Spices added dry to a slow cooker are raw at the start and rounded by the end; a shorter cook would leave them dusty.
- Thighs rather than breast. Four hours on LOW in an acidic tomato sauce would leave breast dry and fibrous; thigh stays tender and holds its inch-and-a-half cubes.
- Lemon juice at the end. Tomato sauce cooked for four hours goes sweet and round, and the tablespoon of lemon is what lifts it back.
One Gate, Four Hours In
Everything before hour four is a straightforward slow-cooked curry. Everything that could go wrong happens in the two minutes after it, and it comes down to what state the cottage cheese is in when it meets the sauce.
- Everything into the cooker at onceChicken, salt, onion, garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, smoked paprika, turmeric and a can of tomato sauce, stirred. Nothing is browned and nothing is bloomed in a pan — four hours does that work.
- Four hours on LOWLong enough for two tablespoons of garam masala to lose their rawness and for inch-and-a-half thigh pieces to go tender at 165°F.
Check before you continue
Completely smooth, with the 1/2 cup of water — A blender, before the cottage cheese goes near the pot
Cottage cheese is curds suspended in whey. Stirred in as it comes, those curds stay visible and grainy in the sauce and no amount of cooking will disperse them. Blended with the water it becomes a smooth cream that behaves like one.
- Ten to fifteen minutes, and no more heatStirred in and warmed through on LOW only. This is where the warning matters: brought to a boil, blended cottage cheese splits just as readily as unblended.
- Lemon and corianderA tablespoon of lemon juice stirred in, then coriander on top. Both go in at the end, where they stay bright.
Ingredient Notes
- Cottage cheese
- One cup, blended completely smooth with the water before it goes in. It is what makes this version of a masala rather than cream or coconut milk.
- Garam masala
- Two tablespoons — a large quantity, and it is the defining spice. It goes in dry at the start and needs the four hours to lose its raw edge.
- Chicken thighs, 1 1/2-inch pieces
- Two pounds. Large pieces so they stay identifiable after four hours; thigh rather than breast so they stay tender in an acidic sauce.
- Tomato sauce
- One 15-ounce can — passata-style sauce rather than chopped tomatoes, which is what gives the masala its smooth body.
- Fresh ginger, grated
- A tablespoon, grated. Alongside three cloves of garlic it is the aromatic base, and ground ginger is not a substitute.
How to Make It
Everything into the cooker
Add the chicken, salt, onion, garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, paprika, turmeric and tomato sauce to a slow cooker and stir.
Cook on LOW
Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours, until the chicken reaches 165°F.
Blend the cottage cheese smooth
Blend the cottage cheese with the water until completely smooth.
Stir in and warm through
Stir the blended cottage cheese into the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 10 to 15 minutes, just until heated through.
Lemon
Stir in the lemon juice.
Serve
Serve topped with cilantro.
Success Tips
- Blend the cottage cheese until there is no texture left at all.
- Keep the cooker on LOW after it goes in; do not turn it up to hurry it.
- Cut the chicken to a consistent inch and a half.
- Stir the spices through properly at step 1 so nothing sits dry against the pot.
- Add the lemon after the heat, not before.
Serving Ideas
Basmati rice and naan. A cucumber and yoghurt salad alongside is the traditional cool counterpoint to a spiced tomato sauce.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The sauce thickens in the fridge and loosens again with gentle warming.
Freeze
Freeze for up to 2 months. Blended cottage cheese holds up better than cream does, though the sauce may need a whisk on reheating.
Reheat
Reheat gently over low heat, never at a boil. The same rule that applies at step 4 applies to leftovers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really have to blend the cottage cheese?
Yes. It is curds in whey, and stirred in as it comes those curds stay visible and grainy in the sauce. Blended with the half cup of water it behaves like cream.
The sauce looked split at the end.
It was boiled after the cottage cheese went in. Step 4 is a ten-to-fifteen-minute warm-through on LOW, not a simmer.
Can I use cream instead?
You would have a conventional tikka masala. The cottage cheese is what this recipe is named for, and it is what makes it lighter and higher in protein.
Can I use chicken breast?
Four hours in an acidic tomato sauce is hard on breast meat. If you use it, check at three hours and expect a drier result.
