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KERALA STYLE CHICKEN STEW

Chicken pieces in a creamy thick sauce of coconut milk, spices and vegetables. A delicious side dish for steamed rice, bread, appam or string hoppers.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian, Kerala, South Indian
Keyword: chicken curry, chicken recipes, chicken stew
Servings: 4 people
Author: Winnie Ann Koshy

Equipment

  • 1 Medium Mixing bowl
  • 1 Heavy Bottom Pot

Ingredients

  • ½ Kg Chicken thighs (skinless)
  • 1 large Carrot (cut into cubes)
  • 1 large Potato (cut into cubes)
  • ½ cup Green Peas (if frozen, thaw it before using)
  • 4 Green chilies or as per spice level (split into two)
  • 4 cloves Garlic (thinly sliced)
  • 1 tbsp Ginger (thinly sliced)
  • 1 large Red Onion (thinly sliced)
  • 3 cups Thin Coconut Milk
  • 1 cup Thick Coconut Milk
  • 1 ½ tsp Salt or as per taste
  • 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
  • 1 - 2 stem Curry leaves
  • ¼ tsp Garam Masala
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper Powder (Refer Note 4)

Whole Spices :

  • 1 pinch Fennel Seeds
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 1 inch Cinnamon stick
  • 4 Cinnamon Cloves
  • 5 Cardamom pods

Instructions

  • Wash and drain chicken thighs and cut into medium size pieces.
  • Heat a heavy bottom pan and add coconut oil into it. Once the oil is hot, add the whole spices (Note 4) and fry for few seconds. Make sure not to burn the spices.
  • Add green chilies and curry leaves and fry for a minute.
  • Then add the sliced onions, along with some salt. Sauté for a minute and add sliced ginger and garlic. Cover with a lid and cook it for few minutes stirring in between.
  • Once the onion turns to light brown color, pour in 3 cups of thin coconut milk (Refer Note 1 & 2). Allow it to boil.
  • Add the chicken thighs. Cover the pan and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is half done.
  • Take the lid off and add the cubed carrots and potatoes. Cover and cook for another 8 or 10minutes.
  • Add green peas and cook the stew with lid off on medium high. Let it boil till the gravy begins to thicken or the gravy reduce to half.
  • Stir in a teaspoon full of black pepper powder (Refer Note 4). Then add 1/4 tsp of garam masala (optional).
  • Mix the stew with 1 cup of thick coconut milk (Refer Note 1 & 3). Turn off the heat (Refer Note 5) and garnish with some fresh curry leaves or roasted cashew nuts. Have the stew with steamed rice, bread, appam or string hoppers.

Video

Notes

  1. If using canned milk, shake the can well before opening and take 1 cup of milk. Mix this with 2 cups of water to get thin coconut milk. Use the rest 1 cup of canned milk as thick milk. Please read How to make Coconut Milk for more details and options.
  2. Mix 1 tbsp full of cashew nut paste in thin coconut milk before adding. This gives the stew a rich flavor.
  3. For a creamy and thick stew, mix thick coconut milk with1 tsp of corn starch or corn flour and pour into the stew.
  4. If you include 1 tsp of black pepper corns in the whole spices, then no need to add black pepper powder.
  5. Do not boil the stew after adding thick coconut milk. Or else the stew will curdle.