Traditional Kerala Style Chicken Stew in Crockpot

Kerala style chicken stew with coconut cream or Nadan Kozhi stew is a rich and flavourful low-carb South Indian style chicken curry. Succulent chunks of chicken and mushrooms are infused with a delicious blend of spices and a creamy coconut sauce. It is a delicious warming dish to enjoy in any season.

The concept of stew is quite old, as old as the Jomon period (14,000 to 300 BCE) in Japan. Some of the most famous stews in the world are Irish Stew, Russian Stroganoff, French Bourguignon, Bosnian Pot, Jewish Cholent/Hamin, and Hungarian Goulash.

Back in India, we have Kerala Ishtu, Odisha Dalma, Andhra Pulusu etc. Even the good old Sambar of South India is basically a type of stew only.

Kerala style chicken stew is an easy recipe that makes a great accompaniment to Idiyappam, Appam, or dosa, a very popular breakfast in Kerala or ghee rice. A favorite version of ghee rice is this Keralan Nei Choru. Do try that sometime too.

You can even pair the stew or ishtew, with Idiyappam, Sweet Dosa, Paratha, Roti or Chapati, Cumin Rice or the humble Steamed Rice.

This curry is an authentic recipe and I don't say that because of its originality, which it is, but rather because of its origin. I mean that I got it from the recipe book of a friend from the state of Kerala, with its capital Trivandrum, where they are located in the south of India.

Kerala is a coastal state on the Malabar Coast in the southwestern tip of India. Here, meat and seafood play a more important role in Indian cuisine (which is traditionally vegetarian) due to its proximity to the sea. Food is most often prepared in coconut-based stews and curries.

Today we present you a Kerala-style chicken recipe, made with aromatic Indian spices, curry leaves and coconut milk. In a nutshell, you need the chicken and the ingredients to make the tasty Kerala stew, where the important ingredients are curry leaves and coconut milk.

Kerala has an interesting gastronomy and has a great variety of dishes both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, where the former are usually slightly spicy and the latter well spiced. It is clear that in India curries are cooked in many different styles and this region is not far behind, here good use is made of spices and fruits such as mango or coconut, fish is used, both dried and fresh shrimp, lamb, pork, but especially chicken.

With this recipe for Kerala style chicken stew with coconut milk you can take advantage and make friends and family surrender at your feet, since this dish is an authentic wonder where you will feel the melting pot of South Indian cuisine on your palate and get ready to receive the maximum gastronomic pleasure in abundance.

Believe me when I tell you that if you make this recipe you will repeat it for sure, go ahead and cook it. It is not difficult to cook as much as it may seem because it has so many ingredients. The biggest difficulty may be getting the spices, but believe me, it will be worth it.

If you can't get the spices in your area, you can always get them online, today there are magnificent online spice stores. I recommend it to you with my eyes closed, why are you still reading? What are you waiting for? Run, to the kitchen!

Servings: 4 people
Difficulty: Easy
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 kg of boneless chicken thighs
• 100 g mushrooms
• 4 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 onions, cut into thin julienne strips
• 1 red chili, chopped
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 2 green chilies
• 1 tbsp ginger
• 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground fennel seeds
• 2 chopped tomatoes
• 2 potatoes (diced)
• 500 ml coconut cream/milk: first and second extract of 1 coconut
• Salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 8 cardamom seeds
• 4 cloves
• 1 lemon
• 1 bunch cilantro, small
• 2 bay leaves
• 20 Curry leaves

Method

1. Cut the chicken into small pieces. In a bowl, combine the chicken with salt, pepper, red chili powder, ground coriander and ginger-garlic paste. Allow to marinate for a few minutes.

2. In a deep crock pot, add some coconut oil. Once it becomes hot, add the bay leaves, cardamom seeds, cloves and cinnamon stick. Add chopped onions, red chili, green chili, garlic paste and ginger. Pierce the skin of the chilli or chop it to prevent it from exploding. Now we add all the remaining spices to brown them a little, stirring well continuously.

3. Fry until soft and golden. Add the chicken to the masala mixture and fry for 3 minutes. Cook the chicken until it starts to take on some color. To the chicken, add tomatoes, mushrooms and potatoes and mix well. Once the mushrooms start releasing their juice, add the second coconut milk extract and curry leaves.

4. Season the chicken with pepper and salt, add water. Put the lid on and simmer for 45 minutes.

5. To the chicken add the first coconut milk extract, cilantro and lemon juice and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

7. Serve over cooked basmati rice.

Tips:

1. If you have fresh curry plant leaves, yes, freshly picked from the plant, add them just 2 minutes before turning off the heat. The curry plant has nothing to do with the spice mix we know as curry powder, the only thing is that they smell the same and this greatly reinforces the aromatic power of the curry dish, a true wonder.

2. Make sure that the coconut milk is of best quality and contains a large amount of coconut fat. You can make this chicken stew with fresh homemade coconut milk or even store-bought milk. If you have ready-made coconut milk, the procedure becomes even simpler.

3. Usually the stew is a little runny, but if you want to thicken it up a bit, here are some ways. Adding cashew paste thickens the stew. Alternatively, along with cashew nuts, add a teaspoon of poppy seeds. You can even add rice flour mixed with water to the curry to thicken it a little more. Add more thick coconut milk, less water and thin coconut milk.

4. You can use either pearl onions/shallots or regular onions. Bay leaves can also be skipped.

5. Coconut oil is a must-have in this recipe for its authentic taste and flavor. However, if you're out of it, feel free to use any neutral-tasting oil like sunflower, canola, or avocado oil.

6. The traditional way to prepare the stew is to simmer it and not boil it. This helps the flavors to blend with each other, in the most appropriate way.

7. Refrigerate leftover stew and use within a day.

8. Salts, herbs, spices make up your seasonings and the liquid can be water, broth and sometimes also wine. Stews are mostly thicker, so this can be related to soups, but not in the same way.

9. Ularthiyathu is a typical cooking style of Kerala. Slow cooked with a blend of spices (turmeric, coriander, garam masala, black pepper, red chilli), onions, garlic, ginger and curry leaves, combined with lightly roasted coconut flakes. Traditionally it is cooked in large, high-bottomed copper uralis (a flat-bottomed dish), over a wood fire. The food is cooked slowly in its own juices and left on the embers for hours. The word Ularthiyathu in Malayalam means slow cooked and dry roasted. Ularthiyathu style recipes are quite common in Kerala with dishes made with pork, chicken, shellfish and molluscs.

Put a few solid ingredients in a pot or pan, pour in a little liquid, season well, and let it all simmer beautifully. The result? An all-in-one wonder called chicken stew, with vibrant flavors and layered textures to satisfy your palate as well as your soul. It’s that simple!