Kerala Chicken Stew

This Kerala-style chicken stew recipe has very well-balanced flavors with a creamy texture and is nutrient with the addition of veggies like carrot and beans. Chicken in this stew is just fall-of-the-bone tender and juicy.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 328kcal

Author Subhasmita

Ingredients

For Marinating Chicken

500 grams Bone in Chicken pieces
2 teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice
½ teaspoon Salt

For Chicken Stew

2 tablespoon Coconut Oil
1 Bay leaf
1 inch Cinnamon Stick
2-3 Green chili adjust as per taste
2 sprig Curry Leaf
2 medium Onion Thinly Sliced
5-6 large Garlic clove
½ inch Ginger
1 medium Potato cubed
1 large Carrot cut into chunks
10-12 Green beans Cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cup Thin Coconut Milk
1 cup Thick Coconut Milk

For Spice Blend

2-3 Green Cardamom
3 Cloves
½ teaspoon Black peppercorn
½ teaspoon Fennel

For Final Tempering

4-5 Sambar/Pearl Onion
Hand full of Curry Leaves
8-10 Cashew halves

Instructions

Marinate Chicken

Clean Chicken. Drain water from the chicken. Mix lemon juice and salt. Marinate for 20-30 minutes

Make Spice Blend

Roast cardamom, cloves, fennel, peppercorn until aromatic.(Don't let the spice burn)
Using a coffee grinder or mortar pestle make it into a fine powder. Keep aside.

Making Chicken Stew

Using a mortar and pestle, roughly crush ginger and garlic.
Add 2 tablespoon of Oil to a pan. Add bay leaf, cinnmon stick, green chilli and curry leaves. Cook it for 30 seconds.
Add sliced onion and cook until the onion has softened and starts to brown slightly. It should take roughly 7-8 minutes.
Add crushed ginger garlic. Cook it until the raw smell is gone, for about 1 minute.
Add marinated chicken, potatoes. Sear chicken on high heat for 2-3 minutes until chicken looks pale. You should see small brown patches here and there.
Next is add salt and thin coconut milk. Mix well. Add carrot. Cover and let it cook on low heat for 12-15 minutes.
Chicken would be tender and cooked fully by now. Pour in thick coconut milk, crushed spice mix. Throw in green beans. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes. Switch off the flame.

Final tempering

Meanwhile in anothe pan, heat coconut oil, fry cashew until golden brown. Remove, drain oil and keep it aside.
To the same pan, add sliced sambar onion. Saute it for a minute and then thorw in few curry leaves. Cook until the onion is light golden brown in colour. Add back the cashew. Mix everything agian.
Add tempering to the stew and give everything a good mix.

Video

Notes

If using canned coconut milk, to make thin coconut milk mix 1 cup coconut milk with 1 cup water.
You can steam carrots, and beans separately and add them towards the end
You can also add cauliflower and green peas.
If coconut oil is not your thing, substitute it with vegetable oil. But coconut oil gives a different flavor for sure.
Freshly crushed ginger garlic paste works best here. For some reason, I didn't like the taste when I used regular ginger garlic paste.
You can definitely make it in a pressure cooker, but cooking chicken on low heat for 15 minutes makes a huge difference in flavor.
You can add more black pepper while serving.

Nutrition