Vegetable Stew Recipe
An Outlook On Vegetable Stew Recipe
Vegetable stew is a semi-solid flavourful broth like dish made of different kinds of veggies mixed up with some spices that are made to boil in low flame for a long time.
The essence you get out of boiling is called as stew and it is extraordinarily aromatic as you add coconut milk to it.
In India, the vegetable stew recipe is taken from the version of chicken stew from the Portuguese and the Syrians. From then on it took modification and the Indian version of vegetable stew evolved.
Vegetable stew recipe makes a wonderful vegan accompaniment for appam and idiyappam , two of the most common breakfasts in South India next to idli and dosa. Vegetable stew recipe is famous in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. And each state has its own style of making it with slight variations in the ingredients and the making as well.
This creamy vegstable stew is not only delicious but also healthy. You can add as many vegetables as you wish and this is a good choice for kids as they would be reluctant to eat them otherwise. It gives instant energy and it also takes less time to prepare.
This super healthy authentic one pot stew is available in almost all major restaurants in South India and it is one of the chosen breakfast or dinner item in the menu card. It is more popular in Kerala, and it is prepared at homes on regular basis. Though there are versatile versions of making it, here I have given you the basic South Indian version of making vegetable stew recipe
Ingredients Required To Make Vegetable Stew
How To Make Vegetable Stew Recipe
To make vegetable stew recipe, wash and clean the vegetables and finely chop the shallots and keep it.
Mince the garlic cloves and grate the ginger.
Boil the peas and potatoes.
Peel off the skin from the potatoes and mash them.
Cut the beans and carrot in one inch size evenly.
Slit the green chillies and finely chop the curry leaves and coriander leaves too.
Drop in two or three elaichis in a handy mortar and pestle (ural in tamil) and crush them. Take out the skin and keep the elaichi powder.
Then you clean the mortar and crush the black pepper make a coarse powder out of it.
Place a saucepan in the stove and keep it in high flame.
Pour in a little (One to two tablespoons approx) coconut oil in it.
Once it is heated, adjust the flame to medium mode.
Add a bay leaf, and the measured quantities of anise, cinnamon, cloves one by one to the pan and you will get a nice aroma out of it in seconds.
Then tip in the grated ginger, minced garlic and slit green chillies to it.
Mix well with a ladle.
• At this stage, drop in the finely chopped shallots and stir well.
When they become translucent, add the sliced beans and carrot to it and stir well.
Let it soften for a while and lower the flame if you want.
After a while, add the boiled peas and mashed potatoes to it and stir well.
Add the required salt to it and close it with a lid and simmer the flame. Splash a little water and pop the lid on.
Let it cook for a while.
After three or four minutes, just open the lid and pour the coconut milk.
Dilute it with two or three cups of water
Close it again with the lid and let it cook for ten minutes approximately in low flame.
After you get a nice flavour out of it, open the lid and garnish it with finely chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves.
Finally, sprinkle the pepper powder and elaichi powder to it and when it reaches the desired (slight creamy)consistency turn off the stove. Now the aromatic vegetable stew is ready to eat.
Transfer it to a soup bowl and serve hot with appam or Idiyappam.
Tips To Follow To Make Vegetable Stew Recipe :
- You can also add other vegetables like cauli flower, boiled white chickpeas, zucchini, spinach and celery according to your choice and preference.
- Always prepare fresh coconut milk at home using grated coconut as it would be more tasty and heathy. Refer my blog for fresh coconut milk
- As the flavour of stew lies in the essence of boiling the vegetables in spices and coconut milk, do the whole process in low or medium flame to get the best result.
- Use a thick bottomed pan and keep stirring till the end to prevent it from getting scorched.
- You can also use the elaichi as such(without crushing) while tempering the stew.
- After the coconut milk is added, the stew should neither be cooked for a longer time nor it should be kept in high flame.
Ingredients
Directions
To make vegetable stew recipe, wash and clean the vegetables and finely chop the shallots and keep it.
Mince the garlic cloves and grate the ginger.
Boil the peas and potatoes.
Peel off the skin from the potatoes and mash them.
Cut the beans and carrot in one inch size evenly.
Slit the green chillies and finely chop the curry leaves and coriander leaves too.
Drop in two or three elaichis in a handy mortar and pestle (ural in tamil) and crush them. Take out the skin and keep the elaichi powder.
Then you clean the mortar and crush the black pepper make a coarse powder out of it.
Place a saucepan in the stove and keep it in high flame.
Pour in a little (One to two tablespoons approx) coconut oil in it.
Once it is heated, adjust the flame to medium mode.
Add a bay leaf, and the measured quantities of anise, cinnamon, cloves one by one to the pan and you will get a nice aroma out of it in seconds.
Then tip in the grated ginger, minced garlic and slit green chillies to it.
Mix well with a ladle.
• At this stage, drop in the finely chopped shallots and stir well.
When they become translucent, add the sliced beans and carrot to it and stir well.
Let it soften for a while and lower the flame if you want.
After a while, add the boiled peas and mashed potatoes to it and stir well.
Add the required salt to it and close it with a lid and simmer the flame. Splash a little water and pop the lid on.
Let it cook for a while.
After three or four minutes, just open the lid and pour the coconut milk.
Dilute it with two or three cups of water
Close it again with the lid and let it cook for ten minutes approximately in low flame.
After you get a nice flavour out of it, open the lid and garnish it with finely chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves.
Finally, sprinkle the pepper powder and elaichi powder to it and when it reaches the desired (slight creamy)consistency turn off the stove. Now the aromatic vegetable stew is ready to eat.
Transfer it to a soup bowl and serve hot with appam or Idiyappam.
