Monday, July 27, 2009

Chicken Stew for the Dieting Soul

I just got off the GM Diet (more on that later), and having decided that I positively do NOT want the weight I shrugged off to find its way back to my tummy, I got this chicken stew recipe from my sister’s mother-in-law who is a Bengali.

It’s healthy & comforting (like all soups) without being watery & bland – things generally associated with stews. The recipe is pretty simple too. You would need:

  • Bay leaves
  • All spice (i.e. garam masala) – Whole
  • Cloves
  • Salt & pepper
  • Boneless chicken cubes
  • Onions – Sliced
  • Tomatoes – Chopped
  • Ginger – Grated
  • Veggies – Beans, carrots, peas. The Bengali version includes potatoes & papaya (raw I think) but we’re in a low carb zone, so we don’t like potatoes J As for papaya, I’d rather think of it as a fruit & not a vegetable. I guess you could also add other veggies of your choice such as cabbage, mushrooms etc.
  • Cornflour

I’m not a stickler for measurements, and I guess seasoned cooks would have a better idea about them than me. Here’s how you can make it:

Lightly sauté bay leaves, all spice, cloves & grated ginger in a teaspoon of oil. I used olive oil but you can use cooking oil too. Or butter if you’re not counting calories :)

Add sliced onions, sauté till they turn brownish in color but don’t make them sweat. Add chopped tomatoes. After a few minutes, dump the veggies & chicken cubes (they need not be boiled), add salt & cook for sometime. Then add sufficient water, a bit of cornflour (dissolved in water) & bring the stew to a boil. Once it boils, put the lid on & simmer till the chicken & veggies are cooked and the stew has attained the desired consistency. Sprinkle black pepper powder (as desired) right before getting it off the stove & serve hot.

Voila! It’s that easy!

6 comments:

Kalyan Karmakar said...

This can be disarmingly tasty specially if you want something light. To me potatoes are the fun part of stew... but it takes all sorts :)

A dash of butter works wonders

There used to be this cabin near the College Square swimming pool. It was supposed to be a YMCA canteen. They used to sell stew at some unbelievable prices 2 Rs for veg 3.50 for chicken (92-95)... was manna for us when we were in presidency

Two food posts in three days? May the feast be with you

Scarlett said...

@The Knife - Expect more in the coming days. I'm watching what goes in my mouth (LOL) like never before, so am on a recipe hunting spree :)

Moonshine said...

I am hungry with all this food talk!!!! :)

Try the mallu stew as well.. similar i think.. except will include coconut milk and no cornflour!!! Yum with dosha / appam!! My mouth is watering!!

Scarlett said...

@Moonshine - Not a big fan of coconut milk in food except in Thai food. No offense :) I don't like Mangalorean curries for the same reason. But I do love the coconut chutney that comes with dosa.

Moonshine said...

I love it!!! Chicken stew in coconut milk is amazing.. try it.. if you are ok with it in the thai curry.. you may like this too!!!

Kalyan Karmakar said...

re 'expect more in the coming days'... welcome to the dark side