Try 30 minutes Kerala Style Chicken Stew, a traditional curry from Kerala prepared with chicken, veggies, spices and coconut milk. It is best served with rice, hoppers or appam. Here is how to make it.
Here are a few more recipes from Kerala that you will absolutely love – Kerala Prawn Curry, Kerala Style Mango Pickle, Kerala Parotta, Kerala Egg Curry, Moru Curry, Kerala Fish Curry, Ulli Theeyal and Kerala Style Fish Moilee.
About This Recipe
Kerala Style Chicken Stew, traditionally known as Nadan Kozhi Ishtu is a popular chicken curry from the southern part of India. It is unique, mildly spiced and can be prepared in just 30 minutes.
Chicken pieces are cooked in a mild coconut milk curry along with veggies and a few spices. It is best served for weekday meals with steamed rice, puttu, hopper or appam.
This recipe shows the pan method, but you can even pressure cook this curry to fasten up the process.
Ingredients
Chicken – Use bone in chicken pieces, as it soaks up the flavours nicely. You can even go for boneless chicken pieces for this curry.
Chicken can be substituted with mutton, fish or prawns.
Vegetables – I have added veggies such as potato and carrot, but you can add in more such as beans, green peas, cauliflower etc.
Coconut milk – Coconut milk is the ingredient that forms the base of this curry. Thick and thin coconut milk, both are used.
You can either prepare coconut milk at home or use a sore bought one.
Cashew nut paste – Adds more creaminess and richness in the curry.
Whole spices – As this curry has no spice powders, it is mildly spiced with whole spices like cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns and bay leaf.
Oil – Use only coconut oil for the traditional authentic taste.
Others – Onion, ginger, garlic, green chillies, curry leaves and salt are few other ingredients for this curry.
Tempering – Tempering is optional, but adds so much taste so its highly recommended. For tempering, you will need coconut oil, pearl onions and curry leaves.
Serving Suggestions
This Ishtu is traditionally served with steamed rice, appam or hoppers. You can also serve it with Kerala parotta, tawa paratha or lachha paratha.
Storing Suggestions
Kerala Style Chicken Stew will last for a day or two, as it has coconut milk as one of its main ingredients. It is also not freezer friendly, as the coconut milk will split while thawing.
Step by Step Recipe
Heat coconut oil in a pan.
Once the oil is hot, add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorn and bay leaf. Fry for a few seconds.
Add onion, ginger, and garlic and fry until they turn translucent.
Add green chilli and curry leaves and fry for a minute.
Now add chicken, thin coconut milk and salt.
Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Add potato and carrot and cook until chicken and vegetables are done.
Add cashew nut paste and thick coconut milk and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
For tempering, heat coconut oil in a pan.
Once the oil is hot, add onion and curry leaves and fry until golden brown.
Pour the tempering over the chicken.
Kerala Style Chicken Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon Coconut oil
- 2 Green cardamom
- 2-3 Clove
- 1 inch Cinnamon
- 3-4 Black peppercorn
- 1 Bay leaf
- 2 cups Onion (Thinly sliced)
- 1 teaspoon Ginger (Finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon Garlic (Finely chopped)
- 2 Green chilli (Slit into half)
- 10-12 Curry leaves
- 750 g Chicken
- 1 cup Thin coconut milk
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup Potato (Peeled and cubed)
- ¼ cup Carrot (Peeled and cubed)
- 2 tablespoon Cashew nut paste – 2 tbsp
- 1 cup Thick Coconut milk – 1 cup
For tempering
- 1 tablespoon Coconut oil
- 4-5 Small pearl onions (Sliced)
- 10-12 Curry leaves
Instructions
- Heat coconut oil in a pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorn and bay leaf.
- Fry for a few seconds.
- Add onion, ginger and garlic and fry until they turn translucent.
- Add green chilli and curry leaves and fry for a minute.
- Now add chicken, thin coconut milk and salt.
- Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
- Add potato and carrot and cook until chicken and vegetables are done.
- Add cashew nut paste and thick coconut milk and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- For tempering, heat coconut oil in a pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add onion and curry leaves and fry until golden brown.
- Pour the tempering over the chicken.
- Serve hot with Appam.
Thalia @ butter and brioche
wow this chicken stew looks amazing!! totally bet it was so aromatic too and your kitchen smelt amazing. perfect winter fare for the cold weather in australia right now!
msnehamathur
Thnx a lot Thlia. It was indeed very good 🙂
Shivani
This recipe looks very yummy. Just want to know one thing here. You mentioned adding thin coconut milk. Where can I get that? Can we just add water to make it thin?
msnehamathur
Hi Shivani. When you make coconut milk at home fresh coconut, the first milk that you get is thick milk and the second one is the thin milk. But if you are using store bought one, please add water and use. Thnx
Shivani
Thanks so much Neha…Trying it today 😀 Lets see how it comes out
msnehamathur
I hope it came out good 🙂
Aditi Shukla
Thanks for the run thru. The finished product looks yummilicious! 🙂
msnehamathur
Thnx Aditi
Carley
Hi,
I am curious if this recipe could be converted to a crock pot version? I would really like to make this but unfortunately do not own a pressure cooker. Thank you for your time and recipe!
msnehamathur
Hi Carley, You can definitely make it in a crock pot 🙂
Hannah
This is my go to recipe for stew! The family loves it!!!
Robin
Hi Neha, How much is one cup?
Neha Mathur
I use standard cup measures for all my recipes.
Emile Woodford
Good to know
Neha Mathur
Thnx
Sonia
I just made this for Dinner today!! It’s exactly how my grandma would make it =) Totally delicious!! i had some Appam mix and made some quick appams as well .. My husband is American so this will be his first time eating this meal .. Im so excited because it truly is delicious!
I just added a bit of sugar to the gravy right at the end … and it gave it that push over the edge into total blissful oblivion =)
Neha Mathur
Thnx for trying the recipe Sonia 🙂
Indishre
Thank you Dr Neha for sharing this wonderful recipe. It’s amazing compliment to appams. Thank you so much
Neha Mathur
Glad you liked it.
Emile Woodford
Thank you
Emile Woodford
Love cooking, what you post. Thank You
Neha Mathur
Thnx
Brototi Das Gupta
I tried this recipe today. It tasted so wonderful that it has gone into my recipe diary for repeat rounds. Thank you and regards!
Neha Mathur
I am glad 🙂
Neha Mathur
I am glad you liked the recipe.
Sarbani Bhattacharya Sander
I can’t believe how delicious this stew was!! I used regular oil instead of coconut oil. For tempering, heated a tbsp of unsalted butter, roasted some cashews and curry leaves and added it to the stew. Fingerlicious good! Thanks Neha!
Neha Mathur
Thanks for trying 🙂
Ranjit Singh Kohli
Awesome…. very good change from regular recipes. Has become our favourite.
Neha Mathur
Glad you liked it 🙂
Sheebz
Thank you for sharing this recipe… it was delicious ????
Neha Mathur
Happy to hear.
Stuti
Delicious! Wanted to ask, is the coconut milk splitting normal? It still tastes amazing tho!
Neha Mathur
Hi Stuti, yes it’s normal. Add only thin coconut milk for cooking. Once the chicken is cooked, then finally add the thick coconut milk.
Roopa
Wonderful taste
Neha Mathur
Thanks
Madhulika
Hi
I have made this recipe often and it is always a hit! Great taste and simple to execute…so extra star for that.
Neha Mathur
Happy to hear!
Zareen Kotwal
Excellent! Made it for my daughters South Indian bday lunch.
Didn’t have coconut oil so used sunflower oil in the chicken and ghee for the tempering. Used 750 gms boneless chicken breast and a 400 ml tin of coconut milk. Ground 1/4 cup cashew nuts in about 2 tablespoons of water. Cooked in less than 20 minutes in the pan. Full of flavour and wholesome. Thanks a million
Neha Mathur
Happy to hear 🙂
Vaishakh
Amazing Receipe, was so easy to make and it was so aromatic and tasty just loved it, will start following you………Thank you awaiting more dishes……..
Neha Mathur
Happy to hear!