Kerala Stew and Appam

The diversity of India comes through in it's cuisine. While Kerala may not be very known for it's food it has a number of great dishes like the ghee roasts and the stew. Also, a fresh home-made appam can enhance the stew significantly!

Ingredients 

For chicken stew

1 tsp saunf (fennel seeds)

1 big piece of cinnamon 

4-5 cloves

3 green cardamom 

1/2 cup curry leaves 

2 tsp Ginger julienne

3 green chillies - slit them

2+1 medium onions finely sliced 

10-12 beans cut broadly

2 carrots cut broadly

8-10 pepper corns crushed

Salt to taste

1 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp coconut oil or regular oil

1.5 cup coconut milk - fresh or canned

2 tsp cornflour

1/2 kg chicken - with bone or if boneless prefer thigh pieces (replace with cauliflower and/or potatoes for the vegetarian version)

For appam (make 8-10 appams)

2 cups raw rice

1/2 cup grated coconut

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

4 tbsp cooked rice

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

salt to tast (~1 tsp)

Method

Chicken Stew

1. In a cooker, add oil and let it heat up 

2. Now add saunf, cloves, cardamom and cloves to it and let it cook for few seconds

3. Add curry leaves and green chillies to it and then add 2 onions

4. Once onion become transparent add ginger to it and let it cook for another min or two

5. Now add beans and carrot, you may add potato and cauliflower to it if you like it and let it cook on slow for 2-3 mins

6. Now add chicken to it and let it cook for 3-4 mins

7. Add 1 cup water and 1/2 tsp salt and then put the lid on

8. After first whistle, slow the gas and let it cook for 2 more whistles

9. Let cooker release pressure on its own. Now add 1.5 cups of fresh or canned coconut milk

10. To get the desired consistency, add 2 spoons of cornflour to 2 spoons to water and add to this.

11. While this cooks, take ghee in tadka pan and fry some sliced onions and crushed peppercorns and put tadka on your stew

Appam

1. Soak the rice and the fenugreek seeds in water for about 4 hours

2. Grind the soaked rice, seeds, cooked rice and grated coconut together with a bit of water if needed

3. Keep the ground mixture in a warm dry place for at least 12 hours to allow for full fermentation 

4. You can keep it in the fridge after the 12 hours and take out an hour before you are going to make it

5. When you are ready to make, add the salt, sugar and baking soda

6. Add some water to get the desired consistency, slightly thinner than a dosa batter but not very liquid (about 1-2 cups)

7. Add the batter through a laddle in a slightly hot appam or any small non-stick pan, turn the batter around the pan to uniformly coat around

8. Keep it on low flame and cover with a lid for about 3-5 min. Take out carefully as the corners begin to brown

Serve the appam with piping hot stew and see the magic happen !