Sunday, March 13, 2011

Urlakazhangu Ishtuu (Potato Stew- Authentic Kerala Style)

A rich and creamy side-dish that is a traditional fare of Kerala cuisine, Potato stew is mildly spiced and gets the heat from ginger other than green chillis! It is served with idiyappam , pancakes (dosas),appams etc. Sadhya  or the grand feast (banquet) associated with special occasions have the stew as a big draw that generally does not have onions or garlic.The stew is also prepared with a base of onions and a few other spices where potatoes join the party later. I have tried to make it the authentic way without onions & garlic.Boiled & roughly mashed potatoes stew in thin coconut milk and later they are spiked with a dash of coconut oil. To this lightly fried green chillis and ginger are added along with  thick coconut milk.


My hubby's granny was reminiscing about the good old days where stew was subtle without the addition of any store bought spices. She also told me how they used to extract coconut milk and make batches of thick, thin & thinner milk. Of course nowadays with the availability of Coconut Milk in tetra-packs, the job is really easier. I used Hommade's Coconut milk , if you have time you are welcome to extract milk from coconuts .To accommodate my granny's eating sensibilities, i followed her easy and simple way of making the stew ! 




What Goes:-

  • Boiled Potatoes - 5 to 6 (medium sized)
  • Green Chillis - 2 - to taste (finely chopped)
  • Ginger - 1/2'' piece (scrapped & chopped finely or grated)
  • Thick Coconut Milk - 50-75 ml
  • Thin Coconut Milk - 100 ml - 125 ml of thick milk diluted in enough water
  • Coconut Oil - 3 tbsp

How:-

Roughly mash the potatoes and set aside. Keep the other ingredients ready. 
Dilute 125 ml of coconut milk with enough water and bring it to a boil. 


Add the mashed potatoes and let it stew & simmer for a while in low flame.


While it thickens and absorbs all the milky essence add 2 tablespoons of coocnut oil.
Once it attains a consistency that is neither thick nor watery add the thick coconut milk and let it cook for a few more minutes. Prepare the tempering separately-warm a tablespoon of  coconut oil and fry the chopped green chillis and ginger.Add it to the potatoes. You can also add curry leaves, mix well and switch off flame.

Serve Hot



Sending it to AWED-Indian Cuisine hosted by Umm Mymoonah event announcement by DK


This goes to Magpie's Kerala Kitchen- March
Also to Rumana's Treat to Eyes- Series 1

30 comments:

  1. looks good! Love stews, anyday- well done :)

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  2. Lovely dish....i would love to try it out with appams!!

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  3. awesome stew to go with even parathas.

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  4. Creamy and tasty dish. Very easy to prepare too. No cutting of onions or other veggies.... Am sure to try this :-)

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  5. I love stew with idiyappam .Yummy!

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  6. Absolutely divine... perfect for a sunday breakfast with appams... mmmm...
    http://krithiskitchen.blogspot.com

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  7. Stew looks super creamy... Lovely one...

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  8. Nice read up,potato stew looks very yummy.

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  9. Very innovative recipe and a healthy one too.

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  10. I make ishtu without mashing the potato this looks yumm.

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  11. Wow!!!new receipe, new info too.

    Never heard abt this receipe and its combo...Thanks for sharing.

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  12. Loved it.Seeing this I am in a mood to have some stew and idiyappam.Wish I could grab from the screen.

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  13. Yumm that an inviting stew, delicious platter..

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  14. Creamy and delicious..looks so yummy

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  15. Your stew looks yummy...Do visit my space if you find time :)

    FunWidFud

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  16. stew looks yum , have to try sometime!

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  17. Priya, Stew looks creamy with the addition of coconut milk...YUm .. Love it dear

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  18. Thanks alot dear for your entry.. this looks awesome:)

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  19. Looks very rich and creamy. Thank you dear for sending this delicious stew to AWED :)

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  20. This is new to me...sounds really interesting. So creamy & delicious!

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  21. Priya
    This looks creamy and fantastic!!---a good old favorite of mine. My girls love this with fresh baked bread:)

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  22. new to me....looks different and wonderful!
    Smitha
    Smitha's Spicy Flavors

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  23. Lovely Stew, Priya - Our friends in Wisconsin were Keralites and made this a lot - I had to get used to it being called IShtu tho'!
    How lovely that you have a paati, and one who can teach you stuff - I do have Big time paati-envy (not kunpo-ting) May she live long and healthy.
    Hey, the other event you can send this to is Gayathri's Cook Spot - Walk through memory Lane it's called I think...

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  24. It's been a long time since I made this potato stew, my mom used to make this served with Appam, Yumm!

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