Restaurant-style Chicken Tikka Masala in a Crock Pot

My husband loves Indian food, and most especially Chicken Tikka Masala.  I've tried making it before but it's never turned out quite right until today.  This was amazing!  We all loved it.  I used this recipe adapted from http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2011/09/02/slow-cooker-chicken-tikka-masala/  It is decidedly not low-fat.  

Since it was in a crockpot I had this funny idea that it'd be relatively simple.  It was simple, but it did take some time because you still have to basically prepare the dish; the crockpot is used just for simmering.

First, the Chicken
8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tsp salt
1 TBS ground coriander
1 TBS ground cumin
1 cup plain yogurt
2-4 TBS butter

Chop up the chicken thighs into 1" pieces and put in medium bowl.  Do not accidently buy bone-in, skin-on thighs, or your prep time increases by 20 minutes.  (Trust me on this.)   Next, sprinkle the seasonings over the top of the chicken and add the yogurt.  Stir until the chicken is fully coated with the yogurt.   Let sit for 10-15 minutes on the counter.

In a large frying pan, melt 1 TBS butter.  Add 1/3 to 1/2 of the chicken and brown it. (It will depend on how big your frying pan is.)   Pour into the crockpot and repeat for remaining chicken as needed.

Next, the Sauce 
4 TBS butter
1 large onion, diced (or blended if your kids don't like chunks)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS salt
1" ginger, peeled and grated
3 TBS garam masala
4 c. crushed tomatoes
1 TBS sugar (optional)
1 whole jalapeno, washed, stem removed, then pierced several times with a fork
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp cornstarch

In the same frying pan you used to cook the chicken, melt the 4 TBS butter.  Add the onion, garlic and salt and fry on med-high heat until mixture is translucent and aromatic.  Mix in garam masala and grated ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Turn the hight to high, and add crushed tomatoes and sugar.  Stir well and bring to a boil, then pour over chicken in crockpot.  Add the jalapeno pepper.  Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Whisk the cornstarch into the heavy cream and add to the crock pot. Stir it in until it's completely mixed in.  Replace lid and let cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Serve over basmati rice and with naan bread.  Naan bread is traditional indian flat bread that is wonderful for dipping in the masala sauce.  It's simple to make and easy to make it with 1/2 or more whole wheat.

Tips:
Get the small bottle of garam masala first, but then you'll probably want to buy it in bulk once you taste how good it is.

Don't skip the jalapeno pepper.  It gives an amazing flavor, but it doesn't make it spicy.

This was pretty much as good as the Tikka Masala we order at our favorite Indian restaurant, but siginificantly cheaper.  We figured the full crockpot was probably equivalent to about 6-8 entrees (costing $15 each)!

This makes a LOT, but don't worry, it's fantastic the next day and you can freeze with ease.

I forgot to add the sugar, so that's why I listed it as optional.  Might be even better with it, but we didn't really miss it.