Kerala spices are Good ingredient to prepare Chicken Stew
The excitement of my daughters on seeing the roosters and hens at a zoo in Dubai brought me fond memories of my own childhood days back in Kerala during the 1980’s. Yes, the decade in which my brother used to send me up the stairs to keep moving the antenna a few inches every 5 minutes so that he could catch glimpses of cricket and the rare Hindi movie that used to be broadcast on Doordarshan. It was also the decade when Gold Spot was the cool drink and Maruti was the cool drive.
Those were the days in which my age was in single digits…..sheesh miss those days when I didn’t have a care in the world. My brother and I used to run after the roosters that were being fed and grown on our residential property. When the roosters were running for their lives, we ran for our special lunch which usually meant chicken curry or fired chicken with rice, pappadom, a vegetable thoran and moru. Our mother would decide whether we would be having chicken for lunch. If chicken was on the plate, the day would be special and the lunch was considered to be delicious.
I am certain my kids, growing as they are in an apartment in Dubai, are missing out on all the excitement of running around in the outdoors with its myriad experiences – hearing the chirping of birds, seeing the roosters running around, arguing on whether the banana has grown bigger since the previous day on the banana plant, picking the coconuts which had fallen during the day and mother had purposely left it there so that we could collect them, running to the kennel where the dog barks at the different visitors (postman, lady selling fish, milkman, paperboy, vegetable vendor, local politician seeking contributions) that are part and parcel of the daily retinue of domestic life.
There are still some things I can do for my kids and one of them is to give them the taste of chicken stew. I try to cook it in such a manner so as to ensure that I can get as close as possible to the high standards set by my mother. I guess I am on the right path considering that my kids, all of 6 and 3 years old along with my husband and our guests devour on the idiyappams and appams which are soaked in the chicken stew. This dish is a great combination with parattas and chappathis as well. Here’s the chicken stew recipe, hope your family enjoys it as much as mine does.
Ingredients and Kerala spices
- Chicken – 1Kg
- Onion – 4
- Tomato – 2
- Potato – 2 Big Ones (or 3 Small)
- Ginger & Garlic Paste – 2 tablespoon
- Green Chili – 3
- Curry Leaves – 1 Stem
- Cardamom – 4 pieces
- Cinnamon Sticks – 4 small pieces
- Sunflower Oil
- Coconut Milk (Thick) – 2 cups
- Turmeric Powder – 1 Teaspoon
- Coriander Powder – 2 Tablespoon
- Garam Masala – 2 Tablespoon
- Black Pepper Powder – 1 tablespoon
- Salt to Taste
Method of Preparation
Put a pot on the gas stove and allow to heat. Pour the oil and add Kerala spices like Cardamom & Cinnamon Sticks. Then add onion, ginger garlic paste, green chili and curry leaves. Saute for a couple of minutes until the mix turns soft and a bit brown. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder and saute for 1 minute. Now add chicken and salt. Close the pot and allow the chicken to cook. 10 minutes later add tomato and potato. After another minute, add the coconut milk and garam masala. Let the chicken stew simmer till fully cooked. Check edibility at intervals of 5 mins. You will know when fully cooked and the stew is ready to be served. Enjoy !!
Have a good day !!
Pheba Philip
