Indian-Inspired Chicken Stew – – Mildly Flavored with Cardamom, Coriander etc.

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by My Yellow Farmhouse - Cooking with Love!

We had snow storm here in Western Massachusetts – only a few inches – but the streets were a disaster and I never made it to the grocery store.  (I tell you, it sure is amazing how resourceful you can be when you’re hungry.)  I dug around a bit in the old ‘larder’ and found two large half chicken breasts and peas in the freezer, a package of precooked diced potatoes, a half bag of baby carrots, a bit of ‘half and half’ cream, sour cream and cashews. I have a pretty good assortment of spices in the cupboard, so I decided to prepare a dish inspired by the spices of India.

The resulting stew has a lovely. subtle flavor because I added just a small amount of each of the spices.  So subtle in fact, that even a professed ‘disliker of Indian food’ (if there is such a person) would very much enjoy this Indian-Inspired Chicken Stew.

I used chicken, since that’s what I had on hand, but you could use whatever you happen to have – pork, for example.  Have leftover vegetables – add them in.  Want a more robust taste – add more of each spice.  Want a bit more heat – add more red pepper flakes.  Don’t have sour cream. Add more ‘half and half’.  As I like to say, “Make it yours’!

small red heart

++ For an easy and delicious homemade chicken broth, place a rotisserie chicken carcass, along with some of the skin, in a large saucepan or Dutch Oven.  Add enough water to cover. Add some chopped onion, carrots & celery.  Add a bit of poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, and simmer for about an hour – uncovered.  Stir occasionally and turn chicken carcass over once or twice.  Allow to cool.  Strain broth through a colander placed over a large bowl.  And there you are!  An excellent chicken broth to use right away – or freeze in a ziplock gallon bag for later use. 

INGREDIENTS

I used jarred spices.  If you have fresh, so much the better!

  • 1 Tbs. butter      ++  Recipe calls for a total of 3 Tbs. butter
  • 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
  • 4 pinches cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cardamon
  • 1/2 tsp. dried cilantro
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 Tbs. butter
  • 1/3 cup chopped green pepper
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped – about 1 cup
  • 1 tsp. fresh minced garlic – 2 to 3 cloves
  • 4 cups peeled, diced and cubed potatoes       ++ You could use sweet potatoes – or a mixture of both    ++  I used a (20 oz) bag of  Just Potatoes Diced Potatoes for two reasons…. I had it in my fridge & because the potatoes have already been peeled, diced and cooked, which I really like!
  • 1 Tbs. butter
  • 2 chicken breast halves, cut into chunks
  • 2 1/2 cups cut baby carrots – cut into 1/3″ pieces
  • 2 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed  ++ Run the peas under hot water to thaw
  • handful of  whole cashews
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • Added at the end  …..  2/3 cups half and half cream  &   1/2 cup sour cream

METHOD

Over medium heat, allow a stockpot or Dutch Oven to heat up a bit. Add 1 Tbs. butter,  1/2 tsp. dried cilantro, 1/2 tsp. ground cardamon, 1/2 tsp. ground coriander, 1/2 tsp. turmeric, 4 pinches cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper and 1/3 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds.

Add another tablespoon butter, 1/3 cup chopped green pepper and 1 cup chopped onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until green pepper and onions are softened.  Add 1 tsp.minced garlic. Cook just until garlic softens, then add 4 cups peeled, diced and cubed potatoes. (Potatoes do NOT have to be cooked first.)  Continue cooking and stirring occasionally for another few minutes.  Remove spice and vegetable mixture for now.

Add another 1 Tbs. butter and chicken breast chunks.  Cook until chicken is no longer pink on the outside.  (The inside can be pink because chicken will finish cooking while stew simmers.)  Add in the set-aside spice and veggies.  Add 2 1/2 cups cut baby carrots, 2 1/2 cups thawed peas, a handful of cashews and 4 cups chicken broth. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Turn off heat. Add 2/3 cups half and half cream and 1/2 cup sour cream until combined

Enjoy!    Or, in Hindi, ka aanand len.

7-indian-inspired-chicken-stew-myyellowfarmhouse-com

 

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My Yellow Farmhouse - Cooking with Love!

Sure, it's necessary to eat to survive - but that's not any fun!! The fun comes from cooking, serving and eating with lots of love, I began this blog to share some of the delicious recipes I've gathered over the years. Thanks for dropping by & sharing the love!

28 thoughts on “Indian-Inspired Chicken Stew – – Mildly Flavored with Cardamom, Coriander etc.”

    1. Thanks! I’m soo far behind in both posting and keeping up with all the blogs I follow because I’ve sold my beloved Yellow Farmhouse and am heading out for ‘new adventures!!
      I’m hoping to, very soon, get back to posting & checking out what all my blogger friends, like you, have been up to. ; o )

      Liked by 1 person

        1. Thanks so much!! It’s been A LOT…. I have so much stuff, which I’ve been gradually getting rid of. (Mostly I’m giving things away.) And I’m gonna feel free and light pretty soon!! ; o )

          Liked by 1 person

  2. Well, ‘disliker of Indian food’ , have you ever met one? :). You are such a creative person dear and I like that A LOT. I need to stick around here for some inspiration. I was just meal planning for next week and I have some chicken thighs, so I might just tweak your recipe a bit and use them… yum.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Amira! Let me know if you do make this recipe and what you do to ‘tweak’ it because I’d like to post that in an ‘update’.
      And thanks for saying I’m creative. We’ve all got to be creative…. hence we blog!!) ; o )

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  4. Wonderful. You can never go wrong, in my book, using curry spices. I just curried a broccoli soup, and it’s fantastic. I’ve never seen dried cilantro, though. Does it have much flavor?

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    1. You know what…. I just took a taste of the dried cilantro… and it tastes like tea. In fact, it tastes like dried parsley (which I no longer use). And dried parsley tastes like tea…
      I bought the dried cilantro for a recipe which called for it… BUT I’m gonna update this recipe & highly recommend using fresh cilantro.
      On another note, it seems my Recipe Roundup idea didn’t work as I’d hoped. I’m disappointed because I thought it was such a great idea to share recipes. I don’t think I have a big enough following. Oh well.. ; o )

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      1. There’s just nothing quite like fresh cilantro if you can get it. Sometimes I can, sometimes it’s brown rot and unrecognizable. Regarding your recipe roundup, I don’t think I knew about it, or I ignored it, knowing that I’d never be that organized to do any more than I do with my blog. It’s like a job as it is! And an unpaid one!

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        1. I included one of your recipes in my recipe roundup – check it out. (And am embarrassed I didn’t have much feedback…) About the cilantro – it’s always nice and green at the local stores, which is wonderful. ; o )

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            1. My ‘brain fog’ is back… BIG TIME.. I forgot I’d told you, when I posted Recipe Roundup, that I included you. You know, John told me not to give up on doing it and it would catch on – and he’s right. I have been getting hits on the post you’re included in. I hope you get some link-backs! ; o )

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  5. What a perfect stew for a cold winters night. We love Indian so we may even up it a notch! I’ve only recently begun added cashews as a thickener and it truly is lovely.
    I always have a good stash of protein in my freezer (chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, shrimp, haddock, tilapia and the odd leftovers, such as home made slow cooker lasagna) so I doubt we would go hungry in a snow storm ;-). I just love your suggestion on using the rotisserie chicken carcass for stock, it is totally amazing. In fact, I always have a bag in the freezer for all of my chicken bones (bbq, roasted etc) and another bag of veggie trimmings, they always make an excellent stock. In fact, I do the same with lobster shells, crab shells and shrimp shells, they make a very flavourful stock for Bouillabaisse!

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    1. Hi Eva – I’m very, very impressed with what you have in your freezer – all those lovely chicken ‘things’ and all those lovely ‘fishy’ things. I don’t have anything like I used to have in my ‘larder’ anymore now that’s it’s only me to feed, for the most part. That’s why I love to entertain so much. ; o )

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    1. That’s great Terry! I think you’ll really enjoy it. Since you love Indian food, you may want to ‘up’ the spices a bit. If you do make, how about letting me know? ; o )

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  9. I love the golden yellow of your stew with the creaminess from the half and half etc.

    Yummy cashews … there’s never any left over at my house as, like a little (ok, big) squirrel, I usually snack on them before they get too comfy in my pantry.

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    1. I really, really liked this!! Thanks for taking the time to comment “A”. And I know what you mean about going through any cashews you have on hand. I now buy two jars at a time!! ; o )

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      1. I made a Punjabi beef and spinach curry yesterday. It looks a little ‘muddy’ with the addition of cooked spinach at the end even though I only simmered it together for about 10 minutes instead of the 30 minutes called for but it will be tasty dish served over freshly cooking basmati rice today. Not spicy hot but very flavourful.

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