Slow-Cooked Mango-Curry Chicken {w/Homemade Avocado-Cilantro Chutney}

There are about 600 reasons I can think of to support my obsession for the Crock Pot.  Today’s reason: it makes for fun experimentation.  This was exactly that… an experiment I threw together spontaneously- let the Crock Pot do its magic- and ended up with a very happy and tasty surprise.  When it comes to poultry and meats, nothing does what a slow-cooker does.  Nothing.

I was roaming the farmer’s market one Wednesday afternoon and stumbled across this super tasty looking mango chutney.  I love dips and sauces {if you’ve read a post of mine before, you’ve likely seen me refer to myself as ‘the condiment queen’ a trillion times before.  So naturally, I had to buy it.  It had super clean ingredients- no weird preservatives I couldn’t pronounce- it was irresistible really.  A few days later, intensely craving an Indian-spiced type meal, I decided to get MacGuyver in my kitchen  and started experimenting away.  I knew I wanted something mango-y… I couldn’t use wait to use my new chutney!  And I knew I wanted something simple and comforting.  So I carefully began crafting up a sauce that I thought would yield the exact flavor I was craving… some mango, some Dijon (gotta have that acid to balance out that sweet), and some curry powder.  Curry + saucy chicken = happiness.  It’s a fact. 😉

I rarely eat legumes these days, but there was just no way I was having this meal without papadums… oh, how I love papadums.  Especially smothered in sweet and savory chutney.  Dreamy.  So I made this meal complete by adding in some crispy papadums (made in ghee), some steamed white rice, a light cucumber-tomato salad, and of course, some chutneys.  I served the mango chutney I’d used for the chicken, and then made an avocado-cilantro chutney too.  I like having both sweet and savory dips to choose from…  and mix together.  I’m a mixer like that.  Turned out to be exactly the meal I was craving.

An important note about the chicken: as I do with a lot of my recipes, I tried a few techniques to see which was best before posting.  I experimented with both skin-on thighs and skinless thighs (I prefer thighs for this meal, but you could certainly use breasts if you preferred).  Normally, I like skin-on chicken… I love a crispy skin!  Buuuut, in this dish, that wasn’t the case.  Cooked in the sauce, the crispy skin turned into a soft one, making that skin pretty pointless, and to be honest, a tad annoying to me- the man didn’t seem to mind it.  The skinless/boneless thighs however, they are good to go just as is.  So I’d say make life easier on yourself and just throw some skinless thighs in there with no pan-frying whatsoever.  But, I did include that option in this post for those who only have skin-on on hand… sometimes it’s just nice to use what you have!  So, if you have skin-on only, I’d brown it first (it does add flavor- so that’s a bonus of skin-on!).  But if you’re going the skinless route, just toss it right in the sauce and call it good. 🙂

serves four

INGREDIENTS

4-6 chicken thighs or breasts, boneless/skinless (see notes above)

4 tbsp mango chutney (high-quality, see note below)

2 tsp curry powder

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 cup coconut milk, full fat

1/2 cup chicken broth (high-quality)

1/4 tp dried thyme

1/4 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

extra salt and pepper, to season chicken

to garnish, fresh cilantro leaves

avocado-cilantro chutney…

1/2 avocado

1 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 tsp finely grated ginger

1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp ground cumin

serve with avo-cilantro chutney, mango chutney, rice, and any extras you like!

*about chutney: I found a great mango chutney at my farmer’s market- one with clean ingredients I liked.  You can make your own if you’d like or get one at the store or market- just peep that ingredients list to make sure there aren’t crazy unpronounceable ingredients and loads of sugar in it first!

DIRECTIONS

Generously season chicken with salt and pepper

Stir the mango chutney, curry powder, and Dijon mustard together in Crock Pot

Add the coconut milk, chicken broth, and all seasonings

Stir together- if desired, taste and adjust seasonings as wanted

If using skin-on chicken, brown the skin in a couple tbsp ghee or butter, until crispy

{See notes about chicken in paragraphs above recipe}

If choosing this method, add that delicious ghee to the sauce too!

Add chicken to the sauce

Cook on high for 3 1/2 hours, or low for 5-7

While the chicken is cooking, prep the avo-cilantro chutney, if making…

Mix all ingredients in a food processor

Blend until smooth

Taste and adjust flavors as desired

Refrigerate until ready to use

Prep all remaining garnishes and sides…

Sprinkle cilantro over the chicken and dig in!