Author Notes
If you’re in the mood for an easy, nourishing meal, try my Hearty Chicken Stew with Veggies. I make this dish when I don’t want to fuss about too much in the kitchen, but I’m not willing to put any junk on the dining table either. To keep it truly hands-off, I keep a jar each of home-made ginger and garlic pastes in my fridge. But if you don’t have these pre-made, don't fret. You can just as easily use store-bought pastes.
Garam masala powder is a spice blend that's easily available in Indian grocery stores. You can even sub the powder with whole spices if you wish to. Add 1 black cardamom, 5 cloves and half a teaspoon black peppercorns to the heated oil in the first step itself and follow with the rest of the steps.
The recipe itself is ridiculously simple and requires no expertise on your part. Just throw together a pot of chicken, veggies, ginger, garlic, bouillon and tomato sauce, set it on a slow simmer and forget about it for an hour or so. When you open the pot, a delicious stew is ready for you to dig into.
Scoop up the stew with some naan bread or have it solo. Simple, warming and oh, so satisfying!
—Saima Zaidi
Ingredients
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1/4 cup
pure olive oil
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1
big red onion, cut into chunks
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1 tablespoon
ginger paste
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213 milliliters
Hunt's tomato sauce (1 can)
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6
chicken thighs, skins removed
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1
small bottle gourd, peeled and cut into medium-sized pieces
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5
white button mushrooms, sliced
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12
small baby pototoes
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2
chicken bouillon cubes, dissolved in 1 litre hot water
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1/2 teaspoon
garam masala powder
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1/2 teaspoon
red chilli powder
Directions
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Heat oil in a large dutch oven and add onions. Fry for one minute or until they turn pinkish.
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Add ginger and garlic pastes. Saute for two minutes.
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Add tomato sauce, chicken, vegetables, garam masala and red chilli powder. Cook for 5 minutes on medium to high heat, stirring once or twice.
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Follow with the bouillon dissolved in water. Mix well.
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Lower heat, cover the pot and let the contents simmer for 45 minutes. Cook uncovered for another 15-20 minutes. Serve hot with naan bread.
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