Kerala Style Chicken Stew with Coconut Milk
I was a little relaxed after I bought my Dslr’s new
battery charger. We checked it in the shop, heaved a sigh of relief and came
back home. Then I pulled out the battery from my camera and place it into the charger and plugged into the
plug point..and bang!!! It started blinking. The orange light, which indicated
that the battery is being charged, was blinking rapidly. So...my battery is dead too??? I checked the
internet and it said that blinking means, there is a problem with the charger.
I was furious. I was annoyed. I wanted to sue the salesman. So, 2 days later we
went again. We handed the charger and our batter to the lady there and asked
her to check which one is screwed up ...not that we used this particular
language!! And to our utter astonishment, the ligh now was beaming steadily.
No blinking, no shivering....the orange light stared at me like...okay....I am
fine!! Why are you worried??
Me and my husband...two surprised soul started discussing
this miracle after we left the shop. We even thought that there can be a
problem with the voltage since we were having some electrical work done in our
flat then. But wait...the charger is working in our home too!!! No idea that what was the problem...but I am
very steadily relaxed now ( not ready to get tensed again) and charging my battery
fully.
I have omitted coriander powder and garam masala powder, but you can add a pinch of them, with the second addition of the coconut milk
I have dug out “Can you keep a secret”, “Shopaholic
Series” and “Wings of Fire” from my stash. Want to read them through the week
without interruption. Some of my friends (with literature degree) think all
these Sophie Kinsella addiction all pointless and funny. They don’t consider
them stories at all. To them Sartre, Milind Kundra and Rumi are something to
spend time on. I beg to differ of course. I find these SophieKinsella books
rather entertaining. A light reading. Something to carry with me in car, bus as well as to the beach.
Chicken stews are my latest addiction. They are light,
mild and completely healthy ( do not count my chilli addition). Put everything
in, cook slowly or on pressure till one or two whistle blows...and you are
done!! Phew!! Is there anything quicker than this?? Well....I have to think.
What do you think??
But wait, this Kerala style chicken stew with coconut
milk is a little different. It needs a little sautéing before cooking the meat.
You can cook
the chicken in a cooker. In fact I prefer to cook stews in cooker mainly. They are easy and takes a lot lesser time.
Kerala Style Chicken Stew with Coconut Milk
Serves 4
Ingredients:
500-600gm chicken on bone
1 medium onion – sliced
4 cloves of garlic – minced / paste
1 inch stick of ginger – paste
1 can of coconut milk / homemade1cup thin and 1 cup thick coconut
milk
2 green chillies – slitted
A few fresh coriander leaves – chopped (to sprinkle in
the end)
2 medium potato – peeled and halved
¼ cup of green peas (optional)
1 small carrot – chopped (optional)
4-5 black peppercorns – dry roasted for 1 minute and then
ground to a fine powder
7-8 black peppercorns
12-15 curry leaves
3 green cardamoms
1 medium cinnamon stick
3-4 cloves
Salt
2-3 tsp oil (preferably coconut oil, but any unflavoured
oil will do)
Method:
Heat oil in a kadai and put the cardamoms, cloves,
cinnamon stick and 6-7 curry leaves into it.
Sauté for half a minute or until the oil becomes fragrant,
and then add in the sliced onion. Do not let the curry leaves turn brown.
Sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes, or until they become
translucent and add in the ginger – garlic paste.
Stir and cook till the raw flavour of the garlic is gone.
It will take around 1 minute.
Now add the chicken pieces, salt and the whole black
peppercorns. Mix in and cook till the chicken starts to change colour. It will
become pinkish and will begin to ooze out oil.
Immediately add in the peeled and halved potatoes,
slitted green chillies, ½ can of coconut milk or 1 cup of thin homemade coconut milk and
1 cup of water. To get the thin coconut milk from the can do not shake it before opening. The coconut cream will be stored at the bottom of the can and we will get the thin milk. Put cover and cook till the chicken is almost or 80% done. Do
check in between and stir, so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. You can do this process in pressure cooker as well. Cook until the cooker blows 1 whistle. Then let the steam come out naturally.
Once the chicken is almost done, add in the green peas,
chopped carrot, 6-7 curry leaves and the rest of the canned coconut milk / 1
cup thick coconut milk. Add the coriander powder and garam masala powder at this stage if you are using them. Do stir the thick cream from the bottom of the canned coconut milk before
pouring in, because the thick part of the coconut milk is most of the time stored at the bottom of the can.
Again put cover and cook till the chicken, green peas and
carrots are cooked from inside.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Simmer till the stew reaches your preferred consistency. I
prefer it to be thicker than the runny consistency.
Put off the flame, sprinkle the ground black peppercorns,
and chopped fresh coriander leaves.
Serve hot with some steamed hot rice.
Comments
Post a Comment