Chicken Stew – The perfect partner for idiyappam and appam . Its called as Ishtu, the local word for stew. This is a very mild gravy / curry flavored with a lot of ginger and coconut milk. Here is how to do simple chicken stew. Here is the veg version of the recipe.
Its an extremely simple recipe. Get all the veggies ready. Cut the chicken into cubes. Make 3-4 incisions with the help of a knife into the drumsticks so the meat cooks well. Set aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add in the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and fennel seeds. Very little of everything. The flavors of the spices are very mild in this recipe. Saute for a few seconds until the spices are aromatic. Add in all the veggies. Onion, ginger, curry leaves, potatoes and peas. Add lots of ginger. I kept some of the ginger pieces a little big so all the juices gets into the gravy but does not come to the mouth as a harsh bite. You can discard the ginger later if you wish.
Add in the chicken, green chillies and the salt. Add in half a cup of water to the pan. Cover the cooker and cook for 3 whitles on medium flame. It will take anywhere between 7-10 minutes. Switch off the stove and wait for the pressure from the cooker release naturally.
Open the cooker and add in a cup of thin coconut milk (second milk). Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Then add half a cup of thick coconut milk and switch off the flame. Here is the recipe for extracting coconut milk at home. Note: If using canned coconut milk, add 1.5 cups of canned milk and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
Serve Chicken Stew, Chicken Ishtu with idiyappam or appam .
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 stick / 2 inches cinnamon
- 1 cloves
- 2 cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds (sombu)
- 3 sprigs curry leaves
- 2 inch piece ginger, sliced
- 2 medium sized onions, sliced
- 1 cup fresh peas
- 2 medium sized potatoes, diced
- 500 grams chicken with bone
- 4 green chillies, slit
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup thin coconut milk (second milk)
- 1/2 cup thick coconut milk (first milk)
- Note: If using canned coconut milk instead of fresh milk, 1.5 cups of canned milk
- Heat oil in a pan and add in the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and fennel seeds. Saute for a few seconds until the spices are aromatic. Add in all the veggies. Onion, ginger, curry leaves, potatoes and peas.
- Add in the chicken, green chillies and the salt. Add in half a cup of water to the pan. Cook for 3 whistles. It will take anywhere between 7-10 minutes. Switch off the stove and let the pressure from the cooker release naturally.
- Open the cooker and add in a cup of thin coconut milk (second milk). Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Then add half a cup of thick coconut milk and switch off the flame.
- Serve Chicken Stew, Chicken Ishtu with idiyappam or appam.
- Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: South Indian
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 stick / 2 inches cinnamon
- 1 cloves
- 2 cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds (sombu)
- 3 sprigs curry leaves
- 2 inch piece ginger, sliced
- 2 medium sized onions, sliced
- 1 cup fresh peas
- 2 medium sized potatoes, diced
- 500 grams chicken with bone
- 4 green chillies, slit
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup thin coconut milk (second milk)
- 1/2 cup thick coconut milk (first milk)
- Note: If using canned coconut milk instead of fresh milk, 1.5 cups of canned milk
- Heat oil in a pan and add in the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and fennel seeds. Saute for a few seconds until the spices are aromatic. Add in all the veggies. Onion, ginger, curry leaves, potatoes and peas.
- Add in the chicken, green chillies and the salt. Add in half a cup of water to the pan. Cook for 3 whistles. It will take anywhere between 7-10 minutes. Switch off the stove and let the pressure from the cooker release naturally.
- Open the cooker and add in a cup of thin coconut milk (second milk). Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Then add half a cup of thick coconut milk and switch off the flame.
- Serve Chicken Stew, Chicken Ishtu with idiyappam or appam.
- Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: South Indian
Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/chicken-stew-kerala-stew-ishtu/
Puli Vadai is a southern kongunad specialty. Its very popular in the Pollachi – Udumalpet belt. People of southern kongunad are called as the Dhatchanam people / Dakshin people meaning people of the south. My father in law always says that its a dhatchanam specialty and Coimbatore guys can never make it as good as them. I need to agree with him. I did not know about this vadai till the time I got married. Its a must for all festivals and special occasions at my husbands place. This tamarind vadai fluffs up like poori when fried and the vadai batter is nothing like you have seen. Its very unique and very delicious tangy fluffy goodness. My mother in law Gokilama makes amazing puli vadai / pulusu vadai. This is her way of making it. She learnt it from her mother in law. Here is how to do it.
NOTE: This is not a beginners recipe
This vadai is made with a rice batter. Par boiled rice / puzhungal arisi is what is used for making this vadai. The ingredients are soaked and ground to a very thick batter and then shaped and fried.
Soak the rice and the toor dal in water for a couple of hours. Drain and set aside.
Take a mixie jar and add in all the ingredients to the jar. The soaked rice and dal, tamarind, salt, dried red chillies and fresh shredded coconut.
Do not add water at the beginning while grinding. Pulse the mixie several times until the mixture is kind of pasty. Add couple of tablespoons of water at a time and grind the batter to a paste. Add water only when absolutely necessary. Let the paste be very slightly coarse. The batter should be thick. So use caution and add very little water while grinding. The batter will slightly firm up after an hour of resting.
Now, what to do if the batter goes wet?
So sometimes, the batter may go wet and here is a remedy. Take the ground batter and spread it on a plate. Place a dry towel on the batter and gently press to remove the excess water. If the batter is still wet, then add in a couple of tablespoon of rice flour and mix well.
Once the batter is ground, rest it for an hour. I keep the ground batter in the refrigerator to firm up. You can store the batter at this stage for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
Now its frying time. Heat oil until hot.
Take a plastic paper and keep it on a flat surface. Slightly oil the paper and your hands. Take a small piece of the batter and make a ball. Place the ball on the paper and spread the ball with finger tips to form a circle. Keep the circle thick. Thin vadas will not fluff up. Also make sure there are no holes while forming the vadas.
Gently remove the spread batter from the plastic sheet and place it in oil. Do not disturb for 10-15 seconds. The vadas will start to fluff up. Gently turn the vadas. Fry for 20-30 seconds on each side. The batter will fluff up in oil like pooris. When the vadai is deep golden brown, remove and drain on paper towels. Do not crowd the pan while making vadas.
Serve hot.
- measurements used – 1 cup = 240 ml
- 1 cup par boiled rice (puzhungal arisi)
- 1/4 cup toor dal
- 1 small lime size tamarind
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 dried red chillies
- 1/4 cup fresh shredded coconut
- 500 ml vegetable oil for deep frying
Grinding
- Soak the rice and the toor dal in water for a couple of hours. Drain and set aside.
- Take a mixie jar and add in all the ingredients to the jar.
- Do not add water at the beginning while grinding. Pulse the mixie several times until the mixture is coarse. Add couple of tablespoons of water at a time and grind the batter to a paste. Let the paste be very slightly coarse. Do not grind to a fine paste. The batter should be thick. So use caution and add very little water while grinding.
- Once the batter is ground, rest it for an hour in the refrigerator.
For frying
- Heat oil until hot.
- Take a plastic paper and keep it on a flat surface. Slightly oil the surface. Take a small piece of the batter and make a ball. Place the ball on the paper and spread the ball with finger tips to form a circle.
- Gently remove the spread dough and place it in oil. Fry for a minute on each side. The batter will fluff up in oil like pooris. When the vadai is deep golden brown, remove and drain on paper towels.
- Serve hot.
- Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Kongunad
