Sunday, October 16, 2011

Masala Chicken Stew

Yum
My mother makes this wonderful Chicken Stew that she cooks with Sri Lankan spices.  When she came over the other day to cook with me, I asked her to walk me through her recipe.  Unfortunately, I did not have the unroasted curry powder that she uses.  So we worked together to come up with an Indian Stew that uses garam masala.  We turned out an excellent chicken stew and I now we have two stews that are noteworthy!  Now, this isn't your "spoon only" chicken stew.  You will probably need a knife, fork, spoon and of course some very crusty bread to eat this stew.




 Ingredients:
4-5 pounds of chicken (with the bone in, but skin removed)
4 large potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks
4-5 large carrots peeled and cut into large pieces or 1lb of baby carrots
1 bag of frozen peas
1 large onion chopped
2Tbs of Ginger-garlic-paste   
5-6 green cardamom pods
5-6 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 Tbs garam masala
2-3 Tbs of Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup of milk
1 Tbs of vinegar (2 Tbs if you want a real tang)
4 cups of chicken broth (or water and chicken bullion equivalent)
Seasoning salt
Pepper
1tsp brown sugar

Note:  if you do not have ginger garlic paste, just substitute 3-4 cloves of garlic minced and 2 inches of ginger grated.

Directions:
In a large stew pot, heat 3-4 Tbs of canola oil on high heat.  Then brown your chicken (seasoned with seasoning salt -I used Adobo) and pepper.  Brown in batches so you don't crowd the pot and then  transfer to plate until later. 




Next add your onion, cinnamon stick, cardamom and cloves.  Fry for 1-2 minutes.






Next add your potatoes and ginger/garlic.







Then add your ground spices, sugar and seasoning salt. Fry spices for a minute and then add your chicken broth or water/bullion, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and your chicken back into the pot.  Remember to put any juices from the plate into the stew too because that's a lot of flavor there.  Now bring to a good simmer.   Once the stew is simmering add your carrots.   Allow to to simmer for 15-20 minutes. 





 Once the carrots and potatoes are cooked through, taste for seasoning.
 Then you want to take the flour and milk and make a slurry (mixing the flour and milk together into a watery paste).   Add this to the stew and allow the stew to thicken up. Once the stew gravy is thickened, add your frozen peas and allow to heat through.  Do not over cook the peas so the retain their green color.



Serves 6 people  Eat with bread, rice, noodles or roti/naan/chapati.  Enjoy.

24 comments:

  1. i really like your food pictures and want to invite you to try out tastingspot.com. it's for anyone that just wants another place to submit photos and share it will other foodies. It’s still in beta version, but would love for you to start adding some photos and help get it going.

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  2. I love stews of any sorts- vegetarian or non-vegetarian! Your chicken stew looks great!!

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  3. This could be one of my absolutely favorite dishes!!

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  4. looks yummy!! & I like to eat some bread with this stew!!!Didnt try this combination for some time.Now you reminded me....:)

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  5. This looks so good Ramona and I would love to have lots of naan with this.

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  6. That looks so hearty and comforting. I love this version of stew!

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  7. Cardamom, coriander, cumin, garam masala?? I'm in love and I didn't even mention the garlic-ginger paste yet. Can your mom come visit here? :)

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  8. A giant bowl of comfort. The spices really make this extra special.

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  9. Chicken Stew luks tasty and yumm.Luv to grab that bowl now.Luv it.

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  10. What a fabulous dish...the whole dinner in one bowl! I bet your house smelled amazing while this was cooking :)

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  11. love it dear! and looks awesome too!

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  12. colourful wonderful combination looks delicious

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  13. Ramona, This Masala Chicken Stew is gorgeous! I'm smitten by the flavors and the hearty nature of it - especially with a hunk of the crusty bread. Brava!

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  14. Ramona....that stew looks outstanding! What a nice alternative to the typical fall beef stew and pot roast. And I love how you really kept the veggies big and chunky! Hope your princess had a wonderful birthday the other day. Bookmarked that punch recipe, too! : )

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  15. Ramona - that looks absolutely amazing! Your pictures are a feast for the eyes...but the stew is the real star! Delicious!

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  16. Thanks for stopping by my blog and following...My daughter, who happened to be by my side while I was going through your blog, was going oooh and aaah seeing your posts!!

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  17. I love chicken stew and make a lot of chicken curry too but never did i added peas in it.
    I like the sound of it .. gotta try sometime.

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  18. This looks like a great recipe- will have to try this soon. I love it when the weather gets cooler and it is time for more soups & stews.

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  19. The recipe doesn't specify how much flour to use for the slurry - how much should I use?

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    Replies
    1. Sorry for the oversight. Try about 3 Tbs... but you can adjust it for more depending on how thick you want the gravy.

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