Sunday 12 January 2014

Chicken Stew {Kerala style}

Breakfast is an elaborate affair for Keralites. Our authentic breakfast items are wholesome and filling though they may not be easy as flipping an omelette or tipping some cereal into a bowl! Most dishes require prep work and planning to be executed the day before... but they are absolutely awesome :D

Back in the olden days at my home, when there is a super special lunch preparation happening in the kitchen, a coconut milk based stew is prepared for breakfast as it is quick and tasty. Only on such days would a bakery bought bread make it to our special menu! Gone are those days and now bread is quite regular in most households. Appam's are more sought after with stew, but with time and resource crunch, people find the easy way out in bread ;) You should definitely try this chicken stew for its simplicity yet rich & creamy taste.

Chicken Stew {Kerala style}
Chicken Stew {Kerala style}

Nowadays stew has become part of my special breakfast menu! On such days I take it up a notch by making beautiful flower shaped appams to go along with the stew. On not so special days, it is bread that makes it to the table with a steaming pot of creamy stew! 

Chicken Stew {Kerala style} with bread

Ingredients:
Oil, as needed
Few Cloves
Few Cinnamon sticks
Few Cardamoms
2 Onions, medium - finely sliced
4 Green chillies, slit lengthwise
Small piece Ginger, finely chopped
3 Garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
500 g Chicken, cleaned and cut into small pieces
2 Potatoes, medium - cut into cubes
2 Carrots, medium - cut into cubes
2 & 1/2 cups moderately Thin coconut milk 
2 cups Thick coconut milk
Salt, to taste
Crushed black pepper, to taste
2 Small onions/ Shallots, finely sliced
Few Curry leaves

Method:
  • Heat oil in a pan and saute the clove's, cardamom's and cinnamon's for few seconds until the aroma of spices fills the air.
  • Add the sliced onions and saute until it turns translucent ( no need to brown them). 
  • Add the ginger-garlic-green chillies and saute for further 2 mins until the raw smell goes.
  • Now add the chicken pieces and stir just to change the raw colour of chicken. 
  • Add potato cubes and thin coconut milk. Stir in some salt and cover and cook for few minutes.
  • Add the cubed carrots and continue cooking until chicken is fully cooked.
  • Now add the thick coconut milk and simmer for few minutes.
  • Meanwhile in a small pan, fry the sliced shallots and curry leaves. Keep aside.
  • When the stew is attained your desired consistency, garnish the dish with the fried shallots and curry leaves.
Notes: You can swap chicken for more veggies and prepare an all veg stew or even tip in your favorite veggies instead of the above mentioned. Just alter your cooking time based on your ingredients
I use maggi coconut milk powder liberally to prepare the coconut milk. Also for a more creamier richer stew, soak few cashew nuts in hot water and grind them to a smooth paste. Add this cashew paste along with thick coconut milk to make it more special. This useful tip is used by my mom-in-law and it helps in thickening the stew too.
                                                                                          ♥ Thank You ♥

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