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Kerala Style Vegetable or Ishtew Recipe - A Traditional Recipe that is gluten free, vegan, made with mixed vegetables, an aromatic broth using Kerala's finest spice blends and coconut milk.
Are you looking for Indian recipes using coconut milk? If yes, you will love the recipe I am sharing today. Presenting, Traditional Kerala Vegetable Stew – A Mixed vegetarian Stew Recipe with coconut milk also popularly known as Ishtew. A heart warming, soul satisfying stew made with mixed vegetables, whole spices and coconut milk.
Vegetable Stew is one of the most popular traditional Kerala Breakfast recipe. It is served as breakfast (side dish) with Puttu, Idiyappam or Appams. It is also enjoyed with piping hot rice, Parottas or chapatis.
A bit of Vegetable Stew History!
Originally the Kerala Christians made the stew with chicken and some vegetables like potatoes and flavoured with all the spices popular in Kerala and thickened the gravy using coconut milk.
However, the Hindus adapted the same recipe and replaced the chicken with loads of vegetables like French beans, carrots, peas, potatoes and cauliflower.
Kerala might be a top notch tourist destination for the rest of the world but for us, there lies our roots. We hail from Palakkad and hence our cuisine is largely influenced by both Kerala and Tamil Nadu style cooking.
My parents have been born and brought up in Kerala and so is Narayan’s father. Kerala cuisine is largely based on fresh coconut, coconut oil and coconut milk. The ingredient is local and hence the diet is largely coconut based, including desserts.
Finding pure vegetarian food in Kerala can be quite difficult. However, there are few pockets where Kerala vegetarian food items are available and quite popular too. Some of the places strictly serve Kerala Brahmin food which has no onion no garlic too.
The Kerala Style Vegetable Stew
To make an authentic Kerala Style Vegetable Stew, you would need good quality coconut oil and freshly extracted coconut milk.
Extract the coconut milk just before you are ready to cook, for best results.
The dish is very minimalistic. Apart from extracting fresh coconut milk, the recipe doesn’t take much time.
It is very basic, something you can sip on a cold winter morning or a rainy day. The use of whole spices like peppercorns, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon along with aromatic curry leaves further enunciate the broth.
Some add garlic to the recipe whereas some skip as it gets a bit overpowering. I have skipped garlic and only added the pearl onions to the gravy. This is how we prefer at home. I recommend pearl onions for the authentic flavour and taste. Use white onions, if you cannot source the pearl onions.
Coconut Milk required for the recipe is made at home. The first extract is the thick coconut milk which is set aside to add later (to thicken the stew) and the subsequent 2nd extract is used to cook the vegetables in to infuse the coconut flavour.
However, if you are hardpressed for time, this can be made with store bought canned coconut milk too. Alternatively, the coconut milk powder that is sold in markets in small pouches can also be utilized for this recipe.
Personally, I absolutely love making stew during monsoons. The spices are warming and the vegetables make it hearty and wholesome.
This stew is Vegan, Dairy Free and Gluten Free. Contains No Nuts.
Some Popular Traditional Kerala Style Recipes on the blog –
- Mambazha Pulissery (Ripe Mango Curry)
- Idichakka Thoran (A Stir Fry made with tender raw jackfruit)
- Nendran Banana Pradhaman (Kerala’s Nendran Variety banana Payasam or Kheer in coconut milk)
- Puli Inji (Kerala Style Sweet and Sour Ginger Pickle for Sadya)
Step by Step Kerala Vegetable Stew with Coconut Milk / Ishtew Recipe
Peel and finely slice the shallots or pearl onions. In case you don’t have the pearl onions, add the white ones instead of red as they have mild taste.
Grate the ginger and keep the curry leaves aside.
Chop the vegetables, wash and drain them in a colander (potatoes into cubes, french beans into 1 inch length and carrots into thick cubes) along with peas.
Heat a kadhai or a non stick pan and add coconut oil followed by the whole spices like pepper, bay leaf, star anise, cinnamon and cloves.
Now add the onions and grated ginger. Saute this mixture for a few minutes until the onions turn translucent.
Add the mixed vegetables, some water and salt. Close the pan with the lid and allow the vegetables to cook.
Once the vegetables have cooked (they should retain their texture and not turn mushy), add the thin coconut milk.
Stir well, add curry leaves and let it simmer for few seconds (without a lid).
Now add the ½ cup of thick coconut milk and stir the mixture well.
After you add the thick extract, you should not cook the vegetables for long else it will split. So stir once and switch off the flame.
Serve the stew piping hot with idiappam or string hoppers, dosas, appam or even with chapatis or rotis.
Recipe Notes
- If you are using readymade coconut milk, cook the vegetables in water and add the coconut milk directly towards the end. Let it cook for a couple of seconds and then switch off the flame.
- Traditionally stew is cooked using coconut oil. However, if you find the aroma too strong, then use veg oil.
FAQ'S / Important Notes
What vegetables can I use for stew?
Don’t skip potatoes! Rest you can add vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, carrots, sugar snap peas, edamame beans too.
Can I add Turmeric powder in stew?
You can absolutely add it but traditionally the stew is white in colour. In case you wish to add turmeric powder, add it while cooking the vegetables with water.
Can I reheat Stew?
You can microwave the stew but don’t do it at a high temperature and for too long. The coconut milk tends to split.
Kerala Vegetable Stew with Coconut Milk / Ishtew Recipe
Vidya Narayan
Vegetable Stew is one of the most popular traditional Kerala recipe made with mixed vegetables and coconut milk. It is served as breakfast (side dish) with Puttu, Idiyappam or Appams. It is also enjoyed with piping hot rice, Parottas or chapatis.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Course Breakfast, Side Dish
Cuisine Kerala, palakkad, South Indian
Servings 2 people
Ingredients
- 1 cup Mixed Vegetables (carrots, peas, French beans and potatoes) 1 cup is 200 ml (use a heaped cup of vegetables)
- 1/4 cup Sliced Shallots (Madras Onions / Pearl Onions) Use White Onions in place of shallots
- 1 cup Coconut Milk Check the instructions below on how to add the milk
- 2 tsp Coconut Oil
- 1 tsp Grated Ginger
- 4-5 nos Cloves
- 1/2 inch Cinnamon Stick
- 1 no Bay leaf
- 8 nos Black Peppercorns
- 1 no Star Anise
- Few curry leaves
- 1/2 cup water to cook the vegetables
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Prep the Vegetables (cubed potatoes, thick chunks of carrots, french beans cut into 1 inch length pieces) wash, drain and keep aside
Peel and finely slice the shallots or pearl onions. In case you don’t have the pearl onions,add the white ones instead of red as they have mild taste.
Heat a kadhai or a non stick pan and add coconut oil followed by the whole spices like pepper, bay leaf, star anise, cinnamon and cloves.
Now add the onions, curry leaves and grated ginger. Saute this mixture for a few minutes until the onions turn translucent.
Add the mixed vegetables, some water and salt. Close the pan with the lid and allow the vegetables to cook.
Once the vegetables have cooked (they should retain their texture and not turn mushy),add the thin coconut milk.
Stir well and let it simmer for few seconds (without a lid).
Now add the ½cup of thick coconut milk and stir the mixture well.
After you add the thick extract, you should not cook the vegetables for long else it will split. So stir once and switch off the flame.
Serve the stew piping hot with idiappam or string hoppers, dosas, appam or even with chapatis or rotis.
Notes
- If you are using readymade coconut milk, cook the vegetables in water and add the coconut milk directly towards the end. Let it cook for a couple of seconds and then switch off the flame.
- Traditionally stew is cooked using coconut oil. However, if you find the aroma too strong, then use veg oil.
Keyword coconut milk recipes, South Indian Breakfast Recipe, traditional kerala recipes, Vegetable stew recipe
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This recipe was published in September 2018 and I have now updated the post with step by step pictures, photographs and added information.
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Vidya Narayan
