Indian Spiced Braised Chicken

I've never purchased the magazine Everyday Foods before, well that's not true, I did purchase a special copy that had kid friendly recipes one time. The April issue boasted the Top 10 Chicken recipes, and be honest, who isn't always looking for another way to cook chicken? I enjoyed looking through the magazine and even dog-earred a few recipes that I wanted to try. I thought it interesting though, how many of the recipes started with a purchased rotisserie chicken, not that that is a bad thing, just didn't seem so Martha-ish to me?

Of course, the first recipe that I wanted to try was the Indian Spiced Braised Chicken. I have never had anything "Indian" before and after reading the recipe (and liking all the ingredients - sans one, the garam masala, which I haven't ever tried) I was excited. I know I read the recipe twice before it dawned on me that was a Slow Cooker recipe. Well, guess what? My slow cooker, previously named the crockpot, was old. Like the original Rival with the brown stripes old. I always hated crockpot cooking, except this one Italian Pot Roast I use to make as a young single, and I think it was the crockpot. So, I splurged and purchased a shiny, new red model. I'm happy I did. The whole family liked this recipe.

Indian Spiced Braised Chicken

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
2 Tbls tomato paste
1 Tbls fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon garam masala (optional)

Cooked Basmati Rice

In a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker, stir together chicken, onion, tomatoes, tomato paste, ginger, garlic, coriander and cayenne; season with salt and pepper.

Cook on high 4 hours (or low 8 hours) until fork tender. Stir in yogurt, cilantro and, if using, garam masala.

Serve with Basmati Rice

Recipe from: Everyday Food Magazine April 07