This must be one of the easiest recipes I know. When I say stew, it might be a little different from what you probably think of as a stew. This one is what you’d find if you stepped into any random Malayali family’s home and asked for some stew. (Not to mention how utterly creeped out said family would be, thinking you were some kind of curry crazed psycho :-)). Anyway, this is so easy to make, especially if you have some of the ingredients packaged before hand. P.S. check out the easy peasy tips :-).
What you’ll need (2-3 servings):
- ½ onion sliced
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- ½ tbsp crushed peppercorns
- 1 sliced green chilli (optional)
- 2 cups of assorted chopped veggies
- chopped coriander leaves for garnish
- salt and vegetable oil as required
What you’re going to do:
1. Heat a pot and pour some oil. When the oil is sufficiently heated, put in the onions, ginger garlic paste, green chilli (if using), peppercorns and salt. Yes, that’s right, just dump it all in at once.
Easy Peasy tip: Use ready made ginger garlic paste
2. Stir well and fry till the onions are beginning to brown. Then add the veggies and mix well.
Easy Peasy tip: Use frozen veggies. I used a mix of fresh and frozen.
3. Stir fry the veggies for 2 minutes, then pour in about ¾ cup of water and cover and cook till veggies are done.
Easy Peasy tip: Use a pressure cooker for max 2 whistles.
4. Just before serving, add some coconut milk, warm slightly and garnish with chopped coriander.
Easy Peasy tip: Use ready to use coconut milk.
There, now don’t you think making this is a breeze? Especially with all my easy peasy tips? :-) This goes perfectly well with plain untoasted bread for a simple, light but satisfying meal. However, the ideal combination would be some Malayali style appams, soft and spongy to soak up the fragrant coconut milk gravy. You can balance out the mildness in this dish with a spicy chicken/seafood side dish for some protein.
Do try this out at home; won’t take long at all. I’ll leave you with a pic of my ‘easy stew meal’ with flat-pan appams and Kerala-style fried prawns:
I like the gravy to seep into my appams; messy, but oh so yum!!!!
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