Should You Make Tikka Masala In A Slow Cooker?

The slow cooker is undeniably one of the most time-saving kitchen inventions ever: Just toss in your ingredients, switch it on, and let it work its magic for a few hours. While we all love the classic slow-cooker pot roast, you might wonder how dishes traditionally made on the stovetop, like a chicken tikka masala, fare in a slow cooker. The short answer? It works ... kind of. To dive deeper, Food Republic spoke with Chef Maricel Gentile, owner of Maricel's Kitchen and author of "Maricel's Simply Asian Cookbook."

While it's good in a pinch, the slow cooker tikka masala comes out much differently than the stovetop tikka masala. "[T]he flavor becomes softer and more blended. It can be flat though[,] compared to the stovetop version," Gentile told us. "The spices mellow over time. The sauce tastes round and comforting, with fewer sharp edges." Unfortunately, it's these sharp edges that make a tikka masala great. You want the spices to shine, the sweetness of the onions to poke through, the tang of the tomatoes, and the creamy richness to balance it all out. You never want a curry to feel one-note, but without the layered cooking only available using the stovetop, a slow cooker can leave you with limited options to build that depth.

It's not just the taste that shifts when using a slow cooker, either. "The texture also changes," Gentile added. "The protein, especially chicken thighs, becomes very tender." In our opinion, the chicken is the most important part of a tikka masala. The very best versions feature yogurt-marinated chicken, which is then grilled to charred and smoky perfection, creating the perfect contrast against the creamy sauce. In contrast, a slow cooker essentially braises the chicken, giving it a tender texture but missing out on that contrast from charring.

The slow cooker excels at tenderizing meat and blending flavors, but that isn't necessarily what you want in a tikka masala, where contrast and definition matter. That said, it's not all downsides. Like a good pomodoro sauce, tomatoes benefit from a long, low-and-slow simmer. According to Maricel Gentile, the extended cooking of a slow cooker works to smooth out the acidity, an effect you can enhance with a teaspoon or two of sugar if needed. Still, while the slow cooker version is undeniably convenient, it won't rival a stovetop version without some extra work beforehand. 

To boost the flavor of your slow cooker tikka masala, you have to build a strong flavor base, and that involves two key components: spices and aromatics. "Spices added raw to the slow cooker can taste flat or dusty," Gentile noted, which is why we recommend using whole spices, toasting them beforehand, then grinding in a spice grinder or using a mortar and pestle. The heat will amplify their flavorful oils before they hit the sauce. We also recommend sauteing your ginger, garlic, and onions in ghee beforehand, which mellows their sharp, pungent compounds to coax out their natural sweetness for a deeper, more complex sauce base. 

"Cream added too early can separate," Gentile added. You don't need to add cream when it's cooking, as the acidic tomatoes can cause it to curdle. Add it once the slow cooking is complete, along with extra garnishes like chopped cilantro, a dash of garam masala, and finish it off with a small amount of butter.