Tender pieces of chicken in a thick and intensely flavoured sauce are the signature notes for a Chicken Bhuna. This recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Bhuna doesn’t disappoint! Full of flavour from tomatoes, chillies and onion coated in a medley of spices; this medium heat curry isn’t just tasty but also amazingly quick to prepare.
Bhuna is a dish that we would order frequently when eating out at Indian restaurants. It’s got bags of flavour but it also tends it to be a lighter option as there isn’t fat or cream added to the sauce.
It’s usually a simple base of tomatoes, chillies and onions. I say usually, because rather like a Balti, it’s a dish that is open to some interpretation! There is no specific recipe which is widely followed.
A bhuna is more about encapsulating the key flavours and creating a beautifully spiced sauce that lets the ingredients really shine.
In fact, the recipe here was one of the first we had on Slow Cooker Club and has been a reader favourite for some time!
What ingredients are in a Bhuna?
Like many curries, the name Bhuna doesn’t foretell the ingredients of the dish, rather the method by which it is cooked. Bhuna is Urdu and literally means ‘to be fried’. It’s famous for being served with a sauce of fresh green chillies and onions.
The ingredients for slow cooker chicken bhuna are below. As you can see, the spice mix includes turmeric, garam masala, cumin, and fenugreek with extra zest from fresh ginger, green chillies, garlic and lemon. Delicious!
Green chillies are preferred as they give the sauce a mild sourness which blends perfectly against the tomatoes and spices. Chicken thighs are used as they stay really tender when cooked for longer in the slow cooker.
Why make a Chicken Bhuna in the Slow Cooker?
For starters, it’s really quick to produce a great tasting curry with very little effort. The prep of the ingredients takes little more than ten minutes and the sauce is a simple base of tomatoes. So it couldn’t get much easier!
Secondly, a crockpot chicken bhuna tastes fantastic after cooking for hours allowing the chicken to turn tender and the flavours to infuse. An important process for creating that authentic intensely flavoured sauce!
How spicy is Chicken Bhuna?
Bhuna is a medium heat dish, so you want a bit of a kick without numbing your mouth and not being able to taste the rest of the flavours!
In this recipe only fresh chillies provide the heat. As such, it’s a good idea to taste a tiny bit of the chilli raw before starting to cook. This avoids issues with either too much, or not enough spice later on.
If you find that your chillies are not up to the job of bringing fire to the pot, then you can also add in a little ground hot chilli – I would suggest starting with 1 teaspoon.
Steps to making the perfect Slow Cooker Chicken Bhuna
- Start by cutting the chicken thighs into thirds and adding to the pot.
- Add sliced onions to the chicken.
- Cover everything in the herb and spice mixture.
- Add the ginger, garlic, chopped chillies, tomato paste, and finely crumbled stock cube.
- Sprinkle over the cornflour and mix everything through well. This will help to create that thick glossy sauce!
- Now pour in the wet ingredients- chopped tomato and lemon juice. Stir through once more and cook!
More Hearty Slow Cooker Recipes
If you like the look of this meatloaf recipe, try these other hearty and delicious recipes:
Yes for up to three days in the fridge in an air tight container or three months in the freezer.
Chicken Bhuna goes well with freshly cooked basmati rice and naan or roti breads.
Slow Cooker Chicken Bhuna
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500 g (1 lb) chicken thighs cut into thirds
- 1 large white onion or 2 small white onions
- 400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes
- 100 ml (0.5 cups) water
- juice of ½ lemon
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 green chillies seeds removed
- 2 tsp dried or chopped coriander (cilantro)
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1.5 tsp fenugreek ground
- 1 2cm (1inch) piece of fresh ginger finely chopped
- 1 chicken stock cube crumbled
- 2 tbsp corn flour
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cut each chicken thigh into 3 pieces and place in the pot, then add the sliced onion.
- In a bowl mix together the garam masala, tumeric, fenugreek, coriander, salt, and cumin.
- Add the spice mix, sliced green chillies, garlic, ginger, sugar and tomato paste. Finely crumble the stock cube into the pot and mix everything together well.
- Sprinkle the cornflour to the pot and stir well.
- Add the water, lemon juice and chopped tomatoes and mix through.
- Cook on low for 5 hours or high for 3 hours.
We do the chicken bound on a regular basis and all the family love it. I do add a couple of chopped red peppers just to try and get some vegetables in my 2 boys. Overall a great inexpensive meal.
Thanks Peter, we love it too!
I have only just joined the Club and as soon as I saw this recipe, I had to make it.
What a superb recipe it is!
Full of spicy flavours and the aroma filled the kitchen.
I cooked it on a high heat for 45 mins then a low heat for the rest of the cooking period.
The only thing I did differently was to sear the chicken first before placing it in the slow cooker. Just a small personal preference.
The flavour was definitely enhanced on the second day so thank you once again for a really super tasty recipe.
I’m now planning my next choice from your Fakeaway series!
Thanks Barry – glad you enjoyed it!
We made your chicken curry recipe and loved it…so expectations for the bhuna are high! Thanks so much for making these recipes free and accessible for us all. Really appreciate your time & effort xx
I made this today what a fantastic curry .. I’m always a little disappointed with slow cooker curry’s as they always seem to be watery but this stayed thick . Sauce on the chicken not chicken swimming in sauce . Lovely will be on my fav recipes 😍
Gorgeous curry! I did fry the chicken and onions before adding to the pot. Will definitely use the recipe again.
This is the second curry I’ve cooked from this site and both have been amazing. I don’t put any water in as like the curry sauce thick just the tinned tomatoes. Great flavour and can’t wait to try more. I tripled the recipe by just tripling all ingredients
Really pleased you enjoyed it. A triple portion is a big curry! 🙂
I made this a few weeks ago using chicken breast for a family get together and everyone loved it. However, I was unable to try it as I don’t eat meat. However, today I have made it with Quorn pieces and it is absolutely delicious and I will most definitely be making again. Thank you.
Really good to know it works with Quorn and you enjoyed it, thanks for trying it out!
Absolutely superb.I agree with other comments, made it exactly as recipe,could not be improved,spot on. We were very happy eaters!
Shall try other recipes in your collection.
Wonderful to hear, thank you for the review!
I’m planning to make this in a couple of weeks for friends, if I double up, should I reduce the amount of liquids please?
Hi, there is a tool on the recipe card where you can increase the number of servings and it will multiply all the ingredients you need accordingly including the liquids, so double up those too. Hope you enjoy it.
So easy to prepare and so very tasty, definitely recommend this one.
(I added two sliced hard boiled eggs to garnish, but that’s just me 🙂
Sounds a nice addition! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the review.