It’s that time of year when we begin to turn our attention away from cooling salads and raw foods, towards warming, comforting, healthy dishes.
Slow cookers are a godsend for this, as you can safely leave them on all day long, and most can be programmed to keep the meal warm after the cooking time has finished, yielding the best kind of reward at dinnertime with very little effort. Long, slow cooking also results in beautifully tender meat and allows flavours to blend and develop fully.
This chicken curry recipe is so easy and suitable for all the family, it only requires minimal chopping, and the inclusion of some root vegetables even makes it perfect as a one-pot dinner. If you like it spicier, just add some dried chilli flakes to your serving before you tuck in.
From a health perspective, this meal is full of goodness – quality protein, colourful vegetables, healthy fats and anti-inflammatory spices – it’s comfort food at its best.
| Ingredients (Serves Four) |
|---|
| 8 skinless and boneless chicken thighs |
| 2 medium onions, sliced |
| 3 cloves garlic, grated/finely chopped |
| 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated/finely chopped |
| 1 tin full fat coconut milk |
| 1 tin chopped tomatoes |
| 1 tbsp tomato puree |
| 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped |
| 1 courgette, sliced |
| Generous pinch sea salt and ground black pepper |
| 1 tsp turmeric |
| 1 tsp ground cumin |
| 1 tsp ground coriander |
| 1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika |
| 1 tbsp maple syrup or other natural sweetener |
| Add a big handful of frozen peas – just run them under a hot tap in a sieve to defrost before adding |
How To Prep
Switch on your slow cooker and then prepare the onions, garlic, courgette and sweet potatoes, and put them into the slow cooker.
Next, add the chicken thighs, sprinkle over the spices, sea salt and pepper, add the coconut milk, maple syrup or equivalent, chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. Once everything is added, give it all a stir, put on the lid and cook for about 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high.
Just before serving, add the peas to the slow cooker and stir them through for a minute to heat. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary, and serve just as it is in a large bowl or cook up some rice to accompany it if you have time.
If there are any leftovers, store and keep for lunch the next day! This is the ideal recipe for prepping a healthy lunch in advance.
| Protein | Total carbs | Net carbs | Fat | Calories |
| 42 | 36 | 28 | 27 | 560 |
