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
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