A former MasterChef finalist has shared how home cooks can create a 'restaurant-style' curry using a slow cooker, avoiding the need to spend hours at the hob.
Dean Edwards, who finished as runner-up on MasterChef in 2006, recently revealed his method in a TikTok video. He described his recipe as a "super simple banging butter chicken curry" and a "dumpy" recipe, meaning all ingredients are thrown into the slow cooker pot.
All ingredients in one pot
Every ingredient goes straight into the pot: the chicken, spices, garlic and ginger pastes, along with Dean's homemade curry base gravy. He said: "I love this sort of cooking as it's so easy and you can even get this ready the night before for convenience."
Once everything is in the pot, the cook simply gives it a good stir, places the lid on top, and allows the slow cooker to do the work. To achieve a thick and rich consistency, melted butter or ghee is stirred in just before serving.
Video attracts thousands of views
Dean said: "This looks absolutely unreal." The video has attracted more than 98,600 views, over 2,100 likes, and around 50 comments. One commenter, Di, remarked: "He's honestly the best." Another, Dunnep, wrote: "Looks unreal as always mate."
Recipe: slow cooker butter chicken curry
Ingredients (serves four): 500g chicken drum fillets, one tbsp heaped tomato puree, one heaped tbsp garam masala, one tsp ground cumin, one tsp turmeric, one tbsp dried fenugreek leaves, one tsp kashmiri chilli powder (optional), salt to taste, one tbsp garlic and ginger paste, 50g cashew nuts blitzed with 50ml water, one 300g portion curry base gravy, 50g ghee or unsalted butter melted, and fresh coriander to garnish.
Method: add all of the ingredients, apart from the butter and coriander, into the slow cooker pot, then stir thoroughly to combine. Secure the lid and cook on the high setting for three hours or the low setting for six hours. Shortly before serving, mix in the butter and fresh coriander, then serve alongside some rice and a fluffy paratha.
