Chicken and Vegetable Stew

In winters it was compulsory for us to have chicken stews with bread in the dinner. A large bowl of steaming hot chicken stew, with some roti or rice or bread, made an excellent appetizing meal. Although we did not like eating vegetables that much, but with every sip of this wonderful chicken stew the vegetables also tasted better. Sometimes Ma used to take out the flesh of the chicken off their bones and blend everything in the blender. That thick messy soup also was a great alternative, as we could not distinguish any vegetables and had to eat up everything clean. Ma also looked forward in making this dish as its easy to make and after a long hectic work day it gave her some time of her own.

We used to eat this Chicken stew often, after all its no winter without a nice bowl of stews and soups...until we got bored of that and finally we nagged Ma to make it no more. This nature is very common for me and my sister. If something suits our fancy, we will do that continuously and endlessly until the final moment, when that particular favorite thing becomes a dismal and a stuff of utter irritation. I can tell you countless incidents regarding this.

For instance take chow-mein. The local street food cart made this particular Indo-Chinese street food spicy and super tasty. They served it piping hot straight from the wok and their stir-frying taste was something to die for. As a result me and my sister became their regular customer. In place of evening snack, lunch and sometimes diner too....we started eating chow - mein, China's best export to India,  overlooking our mother's arched eye-brows and steep voiced warnings to make us aware about their unhealthy and unhygienic effects. Then eventually we got bored. So much so that, eating puffed rice only seemed better than eating Chow-mein. Their smell, sound and crowd...stopped giving me cravings and even till now...I kind of dislike eating noodles.
Thank god...this chicken stew did not become something like that. Its such a simple healthy easy to do dish that anyone can make this. Its that simple. Its also a good option for feeding the sick too. It has got no spice and lots of vegetables to go with. I made this chicken stew continuously for a week for my brother-in-law who was having some health issues, and along with toasted bread it goes perfectly fine. Add a little cubed butter on top with some sprinkle of black pepper and salt and its ready to rock your taste buds.

Chicken and Vegetable Stew
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 500gm chicken on bones
• 2 medium onions - sliced
• 1/2 raw papaya - peeled and cut into small pieces
• 1 medium potatoes - cut into 4 pieces
• 2 large carrots - cut into small length wise pieces
• 1 capsicum - cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 6-7 medium florets of broccoli
• 1/4 cup sweet corn
• 10-12 French beans - chopped
• 8-10 black peppercorns - pounded (you can make a fine powder or if you wish you can ground it roughly. Either way, it goes great. You can also add the whole peppercorns. In that way they will generate only flavor and not heat.)
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme (optional)
• 1/2 of a small bunch of fresh coriander leaves - chopped
• salt
• 2-3 tsp oil
• 1 tbsp butter

Method:

• You will need a heavy bottomed dutch oven or pressure cooker to make this chicken stew.
• Whatever the type of cooking material you are using it should have a cover.
• Put everything inside the cooker or dutch oven, including oil, salt and butter.
• Add water as per your choice. Since it is an one pot dish and does not require any simmering, add water equal to the quantity of the stew.
• If you are not using pressure cooker, cook the stew covered until the meat is cooked through. Add water, if the water is reduced in the process of cooking. This will take around 1 hour.
• If you are using pressure cooker, cook covered until the cooker blows 4-5 whistles. Let the steam come out naturally.
• Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Serve hot with steamed hot rice or bread of your choice.