🇮🇳 Week 4 – Chicken Tikka Masala: Slow-Cooked Success

For week 4 of my #LearningProject, I decided to travel to India through my cooking. I made Chicken Tikka Masala, a classic dish known for its creamy, spiced tomato-based sauce and tender chunks of chicken. For this dish, I used a recipe from the Tasty app, which was a new resource for me. This week, I focused on slow-cooking methods and comparing ingredients like chicken thighs vs. chicken breast.

Using the Tasty App: A New Experience

This week, I explored a new platform for my learning project: the Tasty app by Buzzfeed. With thousands of recipes, short videos, and step-by-step cooking instructions, it seemed like a good tool to test out for my dish a Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala.

As I’ve progressed through this project, I’ve started to realize how difficult it can be to find truly new and distinct resources when it comes to cooking. Many apps, websites, and social media accounts tend to repeat similar content, after all, they’re all sharing recipes. The format might change slightly, but the core learning method often overlaps.

With that said, the Tasty app still offered a fresh learning format that felt different from reading a traditional blog or watching a full-length YouTube video. Its clean interface and short, instructional video clips made the process much more interactive and engaging.

Pros:

• Visually Engaging: Each recipe includes high-quality videos that show each step of the process, which is incredibly helpful for visual learners.

• Step-by-Step Format: Tasty’s swipe-through instructions allowed me to go at my own pace and focus on one step at a time, a big help while multitasking in the kitchen.

• Filters for Convenience: You can easily sort recipes by ingredients, cook time, dietary needs, and skill level, which helps when you’re trying to plan ahead.

• Beginner Friendly: It doesn’t assume prior cooking knowledge, which makes it approachable for new cooks like myself.

• Recipe Remixes: The app often includes “remixes” of recipes, alternative recipes inspired by user comments and feedback. This allows for creativity and customization based on what others have tried and suggested.

Cons:

• Limited Depth in Technique: Some steps could benefit from a little more explanation, especially things like how to know when your meat is cooked all the way or troubleshooting sauce texture.

• Ingredient Substitutions Aren’t Always Offered: It would be helpful if the app suggested alternatives in case you don’t have a specific item on hand, thankfully my recipe had some suggestions but that was because the author Dhruv Vohra, added them.

• Content Repetition: While the app is well-designed, it sometimes felt like a polished version of content I’d already seen elsewhere, a common trend I have found across many cooking platforms.

Overall, I would suggest the Tasty app to others, especially beginner or intermediate home cooks, because of its clear step-by-step guides, visual aids, and broad selection of recipes. It’s an accessible and helpful tool for learning new dishes. Everyone learns differently, and for me, video-based platforms felt more interactive and intuitive.

My Experience with Cooking Chicken Tikka Masala

This week, I really wanted to focus on slow cooking methods and compare ingredients like chicken thighs versus chicken breasts. The recipe called for chicken thighs, and I learned that they’re generally more forgiving in a slow cooker. They stay moist and tender over a longer cooking time, whereas chicken breast can sometimes become dry if overcooked.

From prepping the marinade and gathering my spices, to layering everything into the slow cooker and letting it work its magic, this recipe was straightforward and manageable. The Tasty app’s step-by-step format definitely helped me stay organized throughout the process.

After selecting my recipe through the Tasty app, I gathered all my ingredients and prepared to start cooking. As always, I tried to get a photo of everything laid out, but this time, I got a little distracted by my daughter and missed the chance to snap that classic pre-cook shot. Life happens, especially when you’re balancing parenting and cooking.

Here’s what I used for my Chicken Tikka Masala:

• 3 chicken thighs

• 1 tablespoon flour

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 tablespoon garam masala

• 1 tablespoon turmeric

• 1 tablespoon paprika

• 1 onion, chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 green chiles, chopped

• ½ cup canned tomatoes (with juices)

• 2 tablespoons tomato purée

• ¾ cup plain yogurt (about 200g)

Following the recipe, I simply tossed everything into the slow cooker, it really was that easy. After giving everything a good stir to make sure the chicken was well coated in spices and yogurt, I set the cooker to high and let it do its thing for about 4 hours.

During that time, the kitchen slowly started to smell amazing as all the spices melded together.While the chicken was cooking, I took the opportunity to prepare some rice on the stove. We do not own a rice cooker, and for those who do not either here is how I cook my rice:

1. I first rinsed 1 cup of basmati rice until the water ran clear.
2. I add rice and 2 cups of water to a pot, with a pinch of salt, and wait until it boils.
3. Once boiling, I reduced the heat to low, covered the pot, and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
4. After letting it simmer I grab a fork, and move the rice to make sure there is no water left in the pot and the rice is cooked
5. I let it sit for another 5 minutes before fluffing it with a fork.

After the rice was done I checked our slow cooker To complete the meal, I baked some store-bought garlic naan in the oven. A quick bake at 375°F for a three minutes brought the naan to life. It was warm, soft, and perfect for soaking up all that tikka masala sauce.

The final result was a cozy, flavorful Indian-inspired dinner that felt both rich and comforting. The chicken was tender, the sauce was creamy with just the right amount of spice, and the rice with a small drizzle of sriracha sauce helped balance out all the bold flavors. The naan, while not homemade, definitely completed the experience.

Final Thoughts

This week’s adventure into Indian cuisine reminded me just how much depth and flavor slow cooking can bring to a dish. The Chicken Tikka Masala was rich, warming, and incredibly satisfying—definitely one of my favorite meals so far. Using the Tasty app provided a helpful, beginner-friendly guide, though I’ve realized that platforms like YouTube and TikTok still suit my personal learning style a bit better due to their more dynamic, hands-on demonstrations.

I also learned more about why we slow cook meat, the long, steady heat helps break down tougher muscle fibers and connective tissues, especially in cuts like chicken thighs, making the meat more tender and flavorful. And choosing chicken thighs over breast was a great decision here, as they held up better to the slow-cooking process and added more richness to the final dish.

Next week, we’ll be heading to 🇪🇷Eritrea, where my partner and family in law is from. My mother in law will be teaching me how to cook Tsebhi, a spiced meat stew typically served with injera, and I’m excited to explore more East African flavors. Stay tuned for more cooking, learning.