By Aditi Saraswat
August 13, 2026
Kerala-style chicken stew is a gentler version of curry that is prepared using coconut milk, whole spices and soft chicken pieces in place of heavy masalas. The outcome is a creamy, lightly spiced stew that pairs perfectly with appam or soft bread.
500 g chicken, curry-cut 1 cup thick coconut milk 1 cup thin coconut milk 1 large onion, thinly sliced 1 medium potato, cubed 1 medium carrot, cubed 2 green chillies, slit 1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 small cinnamon stick 3 green cardamom pods 3 cloves ½ tsp black peppercorns 2 tbsp coconut oil 1 sprig curry leaves Salt, to taste
In a deep pan, heat coconut oil and add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns and curry leaves to it.
Now, add chopped onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies to it and sauté until the onions turn soft.
Add chicken, potato, carrot and salt to this and toss everything well. Now pour in thin coconut milk and let it simmer gently.
Cover and cook until the chicken turns soft. Keep the flame low so that the coconut milk does not split while cooking.
Once done, adjust the spices as per requirement, add a few curry leaves and serve hot with appam.