now i have 2 stews for you this time so please remember the disclaimer NEITHER I NOR MY CO-OWNER NOR MY TEAM CREATED THESE WONDERFULL STEWS.
chicken stew
These days I get mails asking me what’s special for Christmas @ MariasMenu. I started with the idea of posting chicken biriyani, then moved on to Kerala chicken roast and finally as you can see I ended up with chicken stew.
If you think about it, chicken stew or rather any non veg stew is an integral part of the Kerala Christmas menu. How can you think of a Christmas breakfast without appam & stew? It’s kind of impossible right?
Like any other stew this is also mildly spicy & creamy. It’s a perfect accompaniment for bread, palappam, kallappam or even pathiri. As I’ve mentioned before puttu & stew is also one of my fav combos.
I’d like to share something with you other than the recipe. You might have heard a lot about Kerala and its rich culinary culture from here and also from other Kerala food blogs. I want to share a write-up with you. This write-up gives you the picture of ” God’s own country & its culinary extravaganza” through the lens of a tourist. I got this link when I was searching something on the net. Its a very interesting read or if you are not interested in reading at least check it out to see some beautiful pictures of Kerala cuisine.
Here is the link: A Culinary Journey in India
Hope you will enjoy reading it :)
Now the recipe:
Chicken – 3/4 kg (cut into medium size pieces)
Onion – 2 medium, thinly sliced
Green chilly – 4-5
Ginger & garlic – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Potato – 1 medium, cubed
Carrot – 1 small-medium, cubed
Cinnamon – a small piece
Cardamom – 4
Cloves – 4
Whole pepper – 1/4-1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds – a small pinch
Medium thick coconut milk - 2 1/2 – 3 cups
Thick coconut milk – 1 cup
Cashew paste – 1 tbsp (optional)
Coconut oil
Salt
Curry leaves
Crush the whole masala (number 4 ingredient). Heat oil in a deep pan & splutter the whole masala. Add onion, ginger &garlic, green chilly & curry leaves. Saute till onion becomes soft and keep in mind that onions should not brown in this recipe. When onion becomes soft add chicken pieces, salt and potato cubes. Mix well. Add medium thick coconut oil and cover & cook.
When the chicken is half done, add the cubed carrots too. Continue cooking till the chicken is fully done. Add the cashew paste to the thick coconut milk & mix well. When the chicken is cooked completely add the thick coconut milk. Reduce the flame & cook for 5 -7 minutes or until you get the required thickness. Garnish with fried small onion/shallots & curry leaves. Serve hot with appam or bread.
Notes: I used chicken with bones. The weight f the chicken given here is after cleaning. To make cashew paste, soak around 7-10 cashews in 1- 2 tbsp hot water for 10 mins. Grind the cashew along with the water to a smooth paste. Cashew paste is usually added to thicken the gravy & make it more creamier. To enhance the taste & flavor, you can garnish the stew with small onion & curry leaves fried in ghee/coconut oil. You can also make this in a pressure cooker in the same way
now for the one you've been waiting for, christmas stew
please note
Christmas stew is often served on Christmas Eve and consists of meats, vegetables and a thick creamy broth. Irish and American Germans favor oyster stew as their holiday tradition.
Christmas Stew Ingredients
Beef stew meat
Stewed tomatoes
Celery
Carrots
Potatoes
Onions
Thyme
Rosemary
Marjoram
Red wine
Water
Peas
Tradition of Stew
Christmas stew is considered a traditional meal, in many German, Irish and Mexican households, during the Christmas season. Despite being similar to regular stew, having it only once a year makes it a suitable holiday tradition. In order to make the stew, simply put all of the desired ingredients into a large pot. The pot can be heated in the oven or on the stove. It should be put on medium heat and cooked for several hours. Once finished, it can serve a large number of holiday guests.
A variation of the meat stew is one that contains oysters. The oysters are boiled in their liquid, after sauteing butter and shallots in a pan. Milk, cream, sherry, salt and pepper are added as the broth.
thank you stewmaster, stew monsieur l*** M******
