Kerala Vegetable Stew is a mildly spiced vegetarian curry made with coconut milk. Whole spices – cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns and bay leaves add to the aromatic flavours of this dish. Unlike other Kerala curries, this dish is not spicy or pungent. Typically turmeric and red chilli is not added in this dish which renders it a white colour. Instead green chillies and fresh ginger give this dish the required spiciness. Vegetables such as potatoes, onions, green beans, green peas and carrots are commonly used for making this dish.
This vegetable stew is normally served with rice or rice based dishes like appams. This vegetarian favourite is often found on wedding and festive menus in Kerala. Sometimes a few cashew nuts are added to this stew to render a richer flavour. Frozen vegetables can used for this recipe in which case the cooking time can be adjusted accordingly.
A query I got from a subscriber recently is whether sweet potatoes can be substituted for potatoes. The answer is yes! You can also use other vegetables such as bell peppers or cauliflower.
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This Kerala Vegetable Stew pairs perfectly with Kerala style palappams, which you can find here: https://relishdelish.ca/recipes/kerala-appam-palappam/
Ingredients
Instructions
- Peel and cut potatoes into one inch cubes, Peel and slice onions finely. Wash and cut green beans, carrots into small cubes. (If using frozen beans, peas and carrots, wash and keep aside to thaw).
- Heat coconut oil in a wok or heavy bottom pan. Add in the whole spices (cloves, cardamom, cinnamon stick and peppercorns). Add in the sliced onions , curry leaves and chopped ginger and saute for 2 minutes.
- After about 2 minutes, add in the cubed potatoes and salt to taste. Mix well. Cover the pan and let potatoes cook on low flame about 5 minutes.
- Stir well and add in the rest of the vegetables. Mix and then add in the coconut milk along with some water as needed to cook the vegetables. Cover the pan and let the stew simmer until the vegetables are fully cooked about 10 minutes. (If using frozen veggies, reduce the cooking time accordingly).
- When the vegetables are almost cooked, add in a few cashew nuts if desired and a pinch of garam masala if needed. Adjust seasonings and serve.