I just love vegetable stew for two reasons. One: It is absolutely oil-free. Two: It is such an easy-peasy dish to make! Goes great with Idiyappams and Aapams, or even with rice, if you particularly like bland food. I love it once in a while with rice, for a change.
Although I’d posted the recipe for vegetable stew earlier (along with the idiyappams), I was still getting requests for it. So I thought it deserved a post of its own so people wouldn’t miss seeing it anymore. Here you go –
Ingredients:
- Onions – 2 nos (medium-sized; finely chopped)
- Potatoes – 3-4 nos (large-sized; peeled and diced into 1/2″ pieces)
- Capsicum – 1 no (large size; diced into 1/2″ pieces)
- Shelled Green peas – 1/2 cup
- Garlic – 5-6 pods (finely chopped)
- Ginger – 1″ long piece (grated)
- Green Chillies – 2-3 nos (slit)
- Coconut Milk – 200ml (or 4-5 tbsps coconut milk powder creamed with 3-4 tbsps water)
- White Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp (you could use black pepper if you don’t have the white pepper handy, only the colour wont be the same)
- Sugar – 1/2 tsp
- Salt – to taste
Procedure:
- Pressure cook the onions, potatoes, capsicum, shelled green peas, garlic, ginger and green chillies together, with adequate water, till they are all soft.
- In a non-stick wok, pour in the cooked vegetables. Add some warm water if required and boil for a minute (end consistency should be the same as Sambar).
- Add the sugar, salt and white pepper powder. Stir well.
- Now, simmer the flame and add the coconut milk/creamed coconut milk powder and stir well. Allow to boil for 10-15 minutes on low flame.
- Serve hot with Idiyappams/Aapams.
Originally, stew is made with only onions, potatoes, ginger, garlic and green chillies and the rest of the procedure stays the same. However, to make my stew more healthy, I threw in some capsicum and green peas.
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My granny makes stew and I cannot tell you how much I love it. This recipe of yours has taken me back to my childhood days!!
Hey, thot I will add… You could toss in some chopped carrots too. Adds to not just the nutritional value but also some colour. That’s how my granny makes it.
Looks deliciously easy, have eaten this at a restaurant ages ago, not tried at home though…
Good one madhuri..i felt I could add in a little dash of seasoning of cinnamon,bayleaf and a slit green chille and go with deepti adding a bit of carrots.Happy cooking 🙂
@Deepti: Glad I could get you all nostalgic! 🙂 And yeah sure, you could definitely throw in some carrots as well. However, adding carrots will no longer make the stew look like stew, but more like saagu, cos it will change the colour of the stew!
@Suma: Yup, its ridiculously easy to make! Do try it sometime…Im sure you’ll love it!
@Veena: Thanks Veena. Like I said, adding carrots will alter the colour. But hey, anything goes, as long as you enjoy eating it. Slit green Chillies are already included in my preparation. Normally, the stew which is made (in Kerala) to go along with idiyappams and aapams, doesnt use cinnamon and bay-leaf, or so I’ve heard. I learnt this from a Mallu and try to make it as close to the original as possible. Do try it with the cinnamon and bay leaf too if you like.
Hi Madhuri,
Nice recipe, esp love the color. I havent been able to maintain that color – I always add something colored…
BTW did I miss you Summer Coolers 1? I cant seem to find the roundup…
Thanks Cooking Foodie!
And no, you havent missed the round-up. I havent been able to post the round-up cos Im a little unwell…Im suffering from severe RSI on my arms and shoulders, and hence limiting my use of the laptop.
The posts on the blog are continuing b’cos I have a few recipes drafted and kept ready, so I just have to hit the publish button to keep things going! I hope to post the round-up in a day or two. Will mail you all when I do.
My sorries to everyone, for the unwarranted delay.
Ohh I am sorry to hear that. Take plenty of rest and post when you can. No worries or hurry!
Looks great Madhuri. I have never made anything like this before. Do you think this can be just eaten on its own or will it go with only roti/rice?
Forgot to say lovely pic. I need to learn to take pics.
The original recipe has no garlic and we add a tsp of coconut oil and curry leaves just before taking it off the fire.Gives a wonderful flavour to the stew but if you don’t like coconut oil,you can use any other veg oil.The non veg version made usually with chicken or mutton,however,has garlic and is seasoned with cinnamon and cloves.Some people like to saute the onions,ginger and greenchillies before adding the potatoes to cook.Tastes better that way,but smtmes if you over fry it,the stew will not be pure white in colour.The thicker the coconut milk,the yummier your stew will be! 🙂
@Priya: Thanks girl! I think it goes best with the idiyappams and aapams. May not be that great with rice, since it is pretty bland. On a personal level, I do love to slurp it up just like that, and get the goodness of the veggies!
@Jayashree: Thanks so very much for the info on the original stew! Yeah, the hubby will surely go ballistic if he sees coconut oil in the kitchen (like I’ve mentioned in some of my earlier posts!!) so I conveniently would skip that 😉 The curry leaves, my friend did tell me about it, but I forgot all about it. Thanks for pointing it out. Will update the recipe 🙂
Yeah,i know,coconut oil is an acquired taste n non mallus definitely won’t like it! Just like we cannot stomach the bengali mustard oil! But adding a little ghee or veg oil at the end will make the stew much more tasty.Also,adding veggies like potatoes,beans n carrot is tastier than peas for this particular stew.Cauliflower flowerettes too are smtms added but many ppl don’t like the taste of cruciferous veggies.Like you mentioned,the original recipe only has potatoes.And like you,i enjoy the stew with rice too.Btw, its excellent with thick slices of fresh bread and ‘puttu’another kerala brkfst dish. Glad to be of service! 😉
Yeah, you’re right. The hubby is Kannada, and he runs in the opposite direction if he sees coconut oil! Oh, but I can stomach anything alright, only it has be vegetarian…cuisine doesnt matter to me! I’m a foodie in the true sense of the word 😀
Thanks once again for all the info on the stew. I too make Puttu-kadala quite often, though it has been a while now. Must make it sometime…now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m craving for it 😀
That looks awesome! I make this all the times without the capsicum for Aappam. It tastes even better the next day with chapathi!
And when you make puttu next time,try it with potato stew instead of kadala,you’ll love it Madhuri! Only make sure that the stew is thick n creamy with lots of coconut milk!:)