Chicken · Slow cooker adaptation

Sheddy's Chicken Korma BIR Style (Slow Cooker)

Sheddy's British-Indian-Restaurant style chicken korma: marinated chicken cooks in a butter-and-cinnamon base, finished with cashew-cream puree. Adapted for the slow cooker so the marinade and base can settle deep before the cream goes in at the end.

R By Richard · Adapted from Sheddy's Kitchen · Published 10 June 2026
👁 110.9k source views ❤️ 1.7k source likes
⏱Prep 70 min
🍲Slow cook 4 hr (Low) / 2.5 hr (High)
🍽Serves 4
Easy Chicken Korma - British Indian Restaurant (BIR) Style

Source video by Sheddy's Kitchen on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

Sheddy marinates 600 g of chicken breast chunks for an hour in 75 g of whole-milk plain yoghurt with 2 tsp each of ginger and garlic puree, 2 tsp of gram flour and 1 tsp of salt. On the hob, 60 g of unsalted butter melts with a 2.5 cm cinnamon stick. One large onion (or two small), finely sliced, chips in the butter for 5-6 minutes. Then 1 tsp each of turmeric and red chilli powder and 3 tsp of dry coriander powder cook in for a minute. The marinated chicken goes in for 3-4 minutes until it changes colour. 300 ml of warm water joins. Adapted for the slow cooker, the pot moves to Low for 4 hours. Cashew nuts (soaked then blitzed with 150 ml of double cream) join near the end with optional coconut powder and sugar for the sweet version. Final simmer 15 minutes with the lid on.

Slow cooker notes: Original cooks on a low hob for 15 minutes after the cashew-cream goes in. Adapted for the slow cooker, the chicken and base cook on Low for 4 hours before the cashew-cream finish. Don't skip the hob stage: the cinnamon needs hot butter to bloom, the onion needs to soften and the spices need to toast in oil; the slow cooker won't do any of that. The cashew-cream finish goes in for the last 30 minutes on Low so it warms through without splitting.

Ingredients

Marinade
  • 600 gchicken breast, chopped into large chunks
  • 75 gwhole-milk plain yoghurt
  • 2 tspgram flour
  • 1 tspcooking salt
  • 2 tspginger puree
  • 2 tspgarlic puree
Base
  • 60 gunsalted butter
  • 2.5 cmcinnamon stick
  • 1large onion, finely sliced
Spices
  • 1 tspground turmeric
  • 1 tspred chilli powder
  • 3 tspdry coriander powder
Liquid
  • 300 mlwarm water
Cashew-cream finish
  • cashew nuts, soaked in boiling water, drained, then pureed with the double cream (add late)
  • 150 mldouble cream, pureed with the cashew nuts (add late)
Sweet version (optional)
  • coconut powder (add late)
  • sugar (add late)

Method

  1. Combine the chicken chunks with 75 g of yoghurt, 2 tsp of gram flour, 1 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of ginger puree and 2 tsp of garlic puree. Mix well. Cover and fridge for 1 hour.

    ~65 min

  2. Melt 60 g of unsalted butter in a frying pan over medium heat with the 2.5 cm cinnamon stick.

    ~2 min

  3. Add the finely sliced onion. Stir-fry for 5-6 minutes until softened.

    ~6 min

  4. Stir in 1 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp of red chilli powder and 3 tsp of dry coriander powder. Cook for 1 minute, stirring.

    ~1 min

  5. Tip in the marinated chicken with all its marinade. Bump the heat slightly. Stir for 3-4 minutes until the chicken changes colour.

    ~4 min

  6. Pour in 300 ml of warm water. If making the sweet version, stir in the coconut powder and sugar now. Bring up to a gentle boil.

    ~3 min

  7. Tip the whole pan into the slow cooker. Lid on. Cook on Low for 3.5 hours.

    ~210 min

  8. Stir in the cashew-and-cream puree (cashews soaked in boiling water, drained, blitzed with 150 ml of double cream). Lid back on, Low for the last 30 minutes.

    ~30 min

  9. Fish out the cinnamon stick. Serve with chapatis or naan.

    ~1 min

Frequently asked

Sweet or unsweetened?
Sheddy's recipe goes both ways. Stir in the coconut powder and sugar after the warm water for the sweet version; skip both for the unsweetened. Everything else stays the same.
What does the gram flour do?
It thickens the yoghurt marinade so it clings to the chicken and gives the finished gravy a touch more body. Don't skip it.
Why a whole cinnamon stick, not ground?
The stick releases its oil slowly into the butter and the gravy without overwhelming. Ground cinnamon turns korma dusty and grey. Fish the stick out before serving.
Can I use chicken thighs instead of breast?
Yes; thighs are more forgiving over a slow cook and stay juicier. Use the same 600 g, boneless and skinless, cut to the same size.
Extraction notes (transparency): Most quantities stated. Cashew nut quantity not stated on camera (they were prepared off-shot); coconut flour and sugar quantities for the sweet version not stated on camera. Servings not explicitly stated; estimated from 600 g of chicken (4 servings). Salt for the cooking stage was stirred in with the marinade; no additional salt was added later.