A family-friendly Indian Dish that Everyone will Love

The cuisine of Kerala in South India is varied and diverse. This delicately spiced Chicken Vegetable Stew recipe comes from the Christian community who migrated to Kerala from Syria centuries ago.

The spices of India, the Dutch East Indies and Ceylon; cinnamon, star anise, cardamom pods, fresh curry leaves, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf, ginger and garlic are added to ‘English’ colonial vegetables and chicken. Kerala was one of India’s centres for trading and growing spices in the 18th and 19th centuries. This influenced the cooking of the Christian community who had settled in Central Kerala from Syria, centuries earlier.

This Chicken Vegetable Stew is perfect served with salad steamed Basmati rice or bread rolls.

One serve (2/3 cup) of this Chicken Vegetable Stew is equal to 1 larger serve protein and one serve fat in the Food Lovers Meal Planner. Serve it with 1/2 cup of steamed Basmati rice (1 smaller carb serve). Add 1/2 plate of salad (2-3 veg serves) and you have a complete dinner. Serve it with extra rice for others in the family with larger appetites.

It is especially fantastic with appams, a steamed rice pancake, spongey in the middle to soak up the flavours and lacey and crisp at the edges.

This lovely Chicken Vegetable Stew is gluten, peanut, egg and dairy free. It’s delicious as a vegetarian main if it’s made with chickpeas instead of chicken.

A Chicken Vegetable Stew from Kochi Kerala

I first learnt this dish from Chef Nitin at the gorgeous Brunton’s Boatyard Hotel in Kochi, Kerala. It is quite different from Nitin’s Kerala Fish Curry (Mean Mollee). The Meen Mollee is a hotter, thicker dish that includes mustard seeds, fenugreek and tomato.

I’ve developed this recipe to make eight Food Lovers Dietitian Meal Planner serves using half a kilogram each of chicken and seasonal vegetables.

Niulife Coconut Oil is well worth considering if you’d like to support a very socially motivated business. Niulife gives 100% of the profits back to the villagers that make their oil.

I do hope you enjoying cooking and serving this dish as much as I have. Please do let me know how it works for you!

Print Recipe

Syrian Christian Chicken Vegetable Stew

Course

Main Dish

Cuisine

Indian

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Passive Time

10 minutes

Servings

People

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• 3 Star Anise Whole
• 6 Cardamom pods Roughly crushed
• 5 Cloves Whole
• 1/2-1 Tbsp Black Peppercorns Vary to taste (1 Tbsp is quite spicy, 1/2 is safe if you're unsure)
• 3/4 Cinnamon Stick Whole
• 2 Bay Leaves Break up just little
• 1/2 Green Chilli Optional (it's still quite spicy with just the peppercorns)
• 4 cloves Fresh Garlic Finely chopped
• 1.5 Tbsp Fresh Ginger Finely chopped
• 3 stems Fresh Curry Leaves Remove from stems (keep one stem's leaves for the garnish)
• 2 small Red onions Diced
• 2 tsp Salt Vary to taste
• 500 grams Chicken breast Cubed
• 500 grams Vegetables of choice Diced - carrots, green beans, cauliflower, leek, peas, zucchini
• 1 cup water
• 400 grams Coconut Milk
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice or White Vinegar Optional

Course Main Dish Cuisine Indian Prep Time 30 minutes Cook Time 10 minutes Passive Time 10 minutes Servings People Ingredients 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil 3 Star Anise Whole 6 Cardamom pods Roughly crushed 5 Cloves Whole 1/2-1 Tbsp Black Peppercorns Vary to taste (1 Tbsp is quite spicy, 1/2 is safe if you're unsure) 3/4 Cinnamon Stick Whole 2 Bay Leaves Break up just little 1/2 Green Chilli Optional (it's still quite spicy with just the peppercorns) 4 cloves Fresh Garlic Finely chopped 1.5 Tbsp Fresh Ginger Finely chopped 3 stems Fresh Curry Leaves Remove from stems (keep one stem's leaves for the garnish) 2 small Red onions Diced 2 tsp Salt Vary to taste 500 grams Chicken breast Cubed 500 grams Vegetables of choice Diced - carrots, green beans, cauliflower, leek, peas, zucchini 1 cup water 400 grams Coconut Milk 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice or White Vinegar Optional

Instructions

1. Prepare all ingredients

   
2. Heat coconut oil in a large pan with a lid (or use a dinner plate) preferably non-stick.
3. Once oil is hot, add spices and stir fry for 3 minutes. Tilt your pan if using gas to pool the oil. **Be very careful to use the lid to protect yourself from hot seeds popping out of the pan. You may almost need to cover most of the open top of the pan.

   
4. Add garlic and ginger ( and green chilli if using) and stir-fry for 2 minutes before adding the curry leaves for another 2 minutes.

   
5. Add the diced onion and the salt as the salt helps it to cook more quickly. Stir-fry until onion is starting to brown.

   
6. Stir fry diced chicken until no longer pink.

   
7. Add diced vegetables and stir fry for a few minutes before adding the water and covering with the lid.

   
8. Cook until vegetables are tender.

   
9. Take the pan off the heat and add the coconut milk and the lemon juice or vinegar if using. Adjust the salt to taste.

   
10. Serve garnished with fresh curry leaves and steamed rice and a side salad.