Easter is here, and I am back with my second Easter Special Recipe in a week’s time, n it’s a Savoury dish! This traditional chicken stew is very popular in Kerala, especially among the Christian families, and is also favored for breakfast. The original recipe is said to be British, but was improvised in the kitchens of Kerala by their Malayalee chefs who served them during the British rule. They gave their own touch to it by adding coconut milk & spices, but keeping the soul of the original English dish intact, and affectionately called it “Ishtu”.

My beautiful memories of Easter go all the way back to my Hyderabad days; thoughts of the invite from my dear friend Meera to her grand Easter Feast makes me drool even today! Her menu was lavish with chicken n beef dishes, cutlets, wine, desserts, and so on, of which her Chicken Stew with Appam was my favorite. So as I was finalizing my Easter recipes, these sweet memories floated by and I decided to try my hand on it. Quickly dialed Meera for her recipe and tips, prepared it and you know what… it was a huge success, it tasted sooo good and my husband loved it!! The unique aroma of the spices with ginger and garlic, along with coconut milk makes it a wholesome meal. And it’s Gluten Free too!! This dish goes well with Appam or Idiyappam, you can also try with Naan or other breads too.

Thank You Meera for this wonderful recipe!
Enjoy, Happy Easter everyone!!!

Interested in other Stew recipes? Check these out:

1. Kerala Style Mutton Stew
2. Vegetable Stew
3. Fish Molly / Fish Stew
4. A must try side for stew – Kerala Style Appam / Palappam

Follow me on Instagram, try out the recipes and tag #pepperdelightblog to all your pictures of Pepper Delight recipes you prepare. Rate below if you love it…!

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Chicken Stew

Warm, Comforting n Hearty…! A Kerala Style Chicken Stew, Packed with Spices, Simmered in a Creamy Coconut Milk… A Traditional Easter Dish…!! 

Course Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword chicken stew, christmas, kerala easter stew

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken (bone-in preferred, cut into small pieces)
• 1 medium sized onion (sliced)
• 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 1 small piece of ginger (finely chopped)
• 3-4 green chilies (finely chopped)
• ½ cup carrots (sliced into round)
• ½ cup potato (cubed)
• ¼ cup peas
• 1 cup thin coconut milk
• ½ - ¾ cup thick coconut milk
• 1 each Spices (cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf, star anise)
• Pepper (as required)
• Salt (as required)
• 1 sprig of curry leaves

For Tempering

• 1 tbsp ghee / clarified butter
• 3 pearl onions (sliced)
• 3-4 cashews
• 1 sprig of curry leaves

Instructions

• Heat oil in a pan, add the spices and saute until they become aromatic.
• Add sliced onions to the pan and saute until it turns translucent.
• Add chopped ginger, garlic, green chilies and curry leaves. Saute for 2 minutes.
• Add the chopped vegetables and chicken, and season with salt and pepper.
• Follow by adding thin coconut milk and stir. Close the lid and cook on a low flame until the chicken turns white and cooked.
• Add the thick coconut milk. Adjust the quantity added to suit your choice of creaminess.
• Check salt, stir and cook for 2 more minutes on a low flame. Turn off the flame.
• To prepare the garnish, heat the ghee / clarified butter in another pan. Add pearl onions and saute until they brown, then add cashews and curry leaves and saute. Add this tempering to the prepared chicken stew, mix well and serve hot.
• Serve with Appam, Idiyappam, Naan or any other bread.

Notes

• This recipe also works well with other meats, substitute the chicken with mutton, turkey or beef. If you are vegetarian, replace the meat with vegetables of your choice.
• Preferably use chicken /meat with bone in, as it adds more flavour.
• It is ideal to use freshly squeezed coconut milk for this recipe, but you can substitute with canned coconut milk or coconut milk powder. I have used canned coconut milk in this recipe, which was very thick. To thin the milk, dilute with equal amounts of thick coconut milk and water.

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