Vegetable stew is a classic Kerala breakfast dish. There is something deeply nostalgic about dipping soft bread into rich flavourful stew. For me, it brings back memories of home and family, and the ‘ishtu’ which is what we used to call it. It especially takes me back to Christmas and Easter mornings, of time spent with family at home. Usually, it is the mutton or chicken stew that is a common choice. However, my younger daughter prefers vegetarian dishes, which is why I developed this recipe. But to my surprise, my older daughter who is very carnivorous in her taste, likes this dish a lot too.
If you are preparing for non-vegetarians, you can switch the stock used in this recipe with chicken stock.
How to prepare easy vegetable stew in 3 steps?
- Fry potatoes with salt and cook.
- Add carrots, crushed whole spices, onions, ginger, chillies and cook in stock and coconut milk.
- Add first coconut milk and top with fried shallots and cashews.
What to serve with?
Stew with bread or stew with appam is a timeless combination that everyone loves. As I said before, it is very nostalgic, and a classic combination.
Check out my appam recipe here!
Easy Vegetable Stew / Veg Ishtu
Ingredients
Temper
Instructions
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Wash and peel potatoes. Soak in water for 30 min to remove excess starch. Drain. Slice in half.
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Peel and slice carrots into 1 cm thick rounds. Then slice each round in half.
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Peel and slice onions. (25 thick slices) Peel and crush ginger. Split green chillies.
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Extract 1st and 2nd coconut milk and keep aside.
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Heat 2 tbsp of coconut oil, add potatoes. Sprinkle salt and fry until outside of the potatoes are slightly browned.
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Add lightly crushed cinnamon, cloves. Add carrots and stir for few minutes.
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Add sliced onions, crushed ginger, split green chillies, curry leaves and salt. Saute for a few minutes until onions start to change colour.
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Add stock or water and second coconut milk. Lower the flame and cook for 5 minutes.
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Add 1/2 of first coconut milk and crushed black pepper. Adjust salt. Continue to simmer until carrots and potatoes are cooked through.
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Now turn off the flame and add the rest of the 1st milk.
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Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil saute sliced shallots until it is light brown. Pour over the stew.
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Add more oil if needed, then add cashews and fry. Pour over the stew. Serve warm.
Note
How to extract fresh coconut milk
Make ahead - Stew can be stored in the fridge (without adding the shallots and cashews) upto three days. Before serving, bring to room temperature and heat it up on low flame. Add fried shallots and cashews just before serving.
Stock - If I am serving guests who eat meat, I like to add chicken stock which gives a deeper richer flavour.
Coconut milk - You can substitute fresh coconut milk with coconut milk powder. For second coconut milk, mix 1 cup coconut milk powder 1/2 cup hot water. And for first milk, mix 1/2 cup coconut milk powder 1/4 cup of hot water.
