Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry
There's nothing better on a cooler autumn evening than coming home to a curry that's been quietly bubbling away all day. This one's my slow cooker take on the sort of curry we order every single time we eat out - rich, gently spiced rather than fiery, and finished with a big handful of fresh coriander.
What makes this curry different from your usual jarred korma or tikka masala is the mustard seeds and curry leaves fried off at the start - they give it a distinctive South Indian flavour that's warm and fragrant rather than hot. Creamed coconut and a spoonful of ground almonds melt into the sauce as it cooks, so by the end you've got something rich and glossy without needing double cream anywhere near it.
Let the slow cooker do the work all day, then stir through natural yogurt and fresh coriander right at the end to keep everything light and fresh. It reheats beautifully too, so it's a strong one for batch cooking on a Sunday.
This goes really well with our Homemade Garlic Flatbread if you want something to mop up the sauce alongside the rice.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Restaurant flavour, fakeaway price
Curry leaves and mustard seeds give this a distinctive South Indian flavour you won't get from a shop-bought curry paste - but it costs a fraction of ordering in.
- Genuinely hands-off
Fry the aromatics for ten minutes, then the slow cooker takes it from there - no standing over a hob stirring a sauce for an hour.
- Freezer-friendly
This curry freezes really well once cooled, so it's worth doubling the batch and freezing half for a night when cooking feels like too much.
- No cream needed
Creamed coconut and ground almonds give the sauce its richness, so it's naturally dairy-light until the yogurt goes in at the end.
- Gentle heat, big flavour
This isn't a fiery curry - it's warmly spiced rather than hot, which makes it an easy sell for teenagers who aren't fans of anything too spicy.
4 Servings 240 Minutes
Ingredients
- Greek Yoghurt - 125 grams
- Basmati Rice - 300 grams
- Brown Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
- Cardamon Pods - 6
- Caster Sugar - 1/2 tbsp
- Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
- Creamed Coconut Block - 150 grams
- Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
- Curry Leaves - 5
- Garam Masala - 1 1/2 tbsp
- Ground Almonds - 1 tbsp
- Ground Coriander - 1 tbsp
- Olive Oil - 3 tbsp
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
- Water - 750 ml
- Brown Onion - 2
- Fresh Coriander - 15 grams
- Fresh Ginger - 1 tbsp
- Garlic Clove - 3
- Green Chilli - 1
- Chicken Breast - 600 grams
Method
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and fry until they start to pop, then add the onions, ginger and garlic. Fry for 6-7 minutes until softened and golden.
- Add the curry leaves, cardamom pods and chicken breasts, slashed side down. Fry for 4-5 minutes, turning once, until browned all over and coated in the spices.
- Tip everything into the slow cooker. Add the ground almonds, creamed coconut, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala, ground coriander, salt, sugar and water. Stir well, spooning some sauce over the chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours, checking the chicken is cooked through with no pink in the centre before serving. Smaller slow cookers or slashed breasts (rather than a large joint) tend to cook faster - ours was ready at 3 hours in a 3.5L, 200W model, but check yours at the 3-hour mark and give it longer if needed.
- Once cooked, stir the yoghurt through the sauce. Loosen with a splash of water if the sauce is too thick. Stir through the fresh coriander and sliced green chilli just before serving.
- For the rice: rinse the basmati until the water runs clear. Cook according to packet instructions (roughly 450ml water for 300g rice, absorption method). Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small pan, add the cumin seeds and cardamom pods, and fry for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Stir through the cooked rice and fluff up the grains with a fork before serving.
Hints and Tips
- Fry the mustard seeds properly
Don't rush this step - you want to hear them fizz and pop in the hot oil before adding the onions, as this is where a lot of the flavour comes from.
- Keep your chicken breast whole
Slashing the breasts a couple of times helps the spices penetrate and speeds up cooking, without you needing to fully chop the chicken into pieces.
- Add yogurt at the very end
Stir the yogurt in only once the slow cooker is switched off, otherwise the heat can cause it to split and go grainy.
- Loosen with water if needed
If the sauce looks too thick after cooking, stir in a splash of water to loosen it before serving.
- Simplify the rice
A few whole cumin seeds and a cardamom pod or two fried in oil and stirred through cooked basmati gives you the same fragrant effect as a more complex spiced rice, with far less fuss.
- Rinse your rice
Give the basmati a good rinse until the water runs clear before cooking - it washes off the surface starch so your rice stays fluffy rather than turning gluey.