The Fair Lady’s Chicken Stew
Now that the Indian festive season is almost done, the apprentice demands that we bring back some recipes from Ayah’s repertoire of Western cuisine and since it’s been a while since we posted a recipe for the non-vegetarians, we bring you the recipe for Ayah’s stew, not to be confused with the Kerala Ishtew. This recipe is for a rustic and wholesome Chicken Stew just saucy enough to soak a warm chunk of bread in.
As I have said earlier, Ayah’s exposure to Western cuisine came from Aiyah’s highly anglicized family. While it must have been a shock to her system, she adapted her cooking abilities fairly quickly, although never her taste buds fully. The recipe for her Stew was one of those lost to us, but we turned to the Aunt who had indoctrinated Ayah into Western cuisine in years gone by – Leela Ramaswamy, many thanks to you Aunty. Incidentally, it was also Aunty Leela who taught Ayah to throw fabulous birthday parties with food to die for, much to the delight of us young uns.
No story of Ayah’s indoctrination into Aiyah’s world is complete without the story of the Fair Lady, which is what he often referred to her as. Audrey Hepburn she was not, but certainly in character for Professor ‘iggins’ Eliza Dolittle. If you haven’t seen the film, it is a must watch, one of Hepburn’s finest works based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion.
Over the years, Aiyah had stubbornly refused to get married much to the despair of his parents who even resorted to tricks like holding on to his passport in the hope that he would settle down to ‘normlacy’, the life of a traditional Chettiar man with an Achi and a brood in tow. Aiyah though was out to change the world with his journalism! The sophisticated, not so young man, was living a rather impoverished but idealist life in Ceylon; however the rising anti-Indian sentiment in the late 1960s put paid to his career there and he returned finally to India, I would say rather disillusioned. Unfortunately, much of his life in Ceylon is a mystery to us, except for the stories he chose to tell – his favourite being how one New Year’s Eve the chain smoker determinedly decided to quit smoking cold turkey because it was either the 10 packs of cigarettes he was inhaling a day or his rent.
Aiyah and his Fair Lady, PC: Saraswathy Palaniappan
Anyway, a few months after Aiyah’s return, when the young Valli was introduced to him, the sun and the moon and the stars aligned and wedding bells soon rang, much to the surprise of all concerned. The saying that opposites attract must be true because never have I seen such a mismatched couple as them – he an urbane idealist and she a naïve village belle. While in the early years of their marriage Aiyah, the mentor, was the defense between her naivete and his sophisticated world, Ayah, later on trained to become an accountant and a Company Secretary, and soon became the buffer between his idealism and the commercial world. Professor ‘iggins and the Fair Lady indeed!
With that little nugget of our history, we bring to you the Fair Lady’s Chicken Stew which the apprentice claims was very easy to make and best had with his crusty garlic bread - oh, but for some more sauce, he says! The young man had never had turnip (shalgam in Hindi, but I have no idea what it’s called in Tamil) and is now a fan of the vegetable. For a vegetarian version, feel free to substitute the chicken with firm tofu or mock meat.
Note:
1. This recipe works with chicken on the bone as well as boneless chicken. It also works with mutton or lamb - if using mutton or lamb, the cooking time will be longer, but all else remains the same.
2. The jury is out about washing meat - a reader wrote in earlier about world health and disease control organisations recommending that meat not be washed; however, old habits die hard and I still wash any meat that I use. Whether you do or not is entirely up to you.
3. Turnips (Shalgam in Hindi), which impart a distinctive taste to the stew, are incredibly hard to find in some countries. I substituted with Jicama, a Mexican Turnip commonly used in Popiah in Asian countries. Kohlrabi (or Knol knol) is another option, if you can find it.
4. For a vegetarian version, substitute the chicken with firm tofu or mock meat and use vegetable stock or water for the broth.
Ingredients:
300 gm chicken, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, minced
1 big tomato, cut into 8 pieces
2 small potatoes or 1 large potato, peeled and diced (about ¾ inch)
½ carrot, peeled and diced (about ¾ inch) or about 5 baby carrots kept whole
1 stalk of western celery, diced (about ¾ inch)
1 turnip, peeled and diced (about ¾ inch)
4-5 small white onion, peel and keep whole (if you can’t find, use the white bulbs of the spring onions)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
~ 3 – 3.5 cups chicken stock / water
Salt to taste (~2 teaspoon)
Pepper powder to taste (2 teaspoon)
~ 1.5 tablespoons plain flour (this is to thicken)
Method:
1. Cut all the ingredients as above.
300 gm chicken, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, minced
1 big tomato, cut into 8 pieces
2 small potatoes or 1 large potato, peeled and diced (about ¾ inch)
½ carrot, peeled and diced (about ¾ inch) or about 5 baby carrots kept whole
1 stalk of western celery, diced (about ¾ inch)
1 turnip, peeled and diced (about ¾ inch)
4-5 small white onion, peel and keep whole (if you can’t find, use the white bulbs of the spring onions)
2. In a big saucepan, big enough to hold all the ingredients, heat up the butter and oil.
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cooking oil
3. Pat the chicken pieces dry and add them, a few at a time, brown on one side, turn over and brown on the other. Don’t over crowd the pan. Remove the chicken and drain
4. In the same oil, brown the potatoes, remove and drain.
5. Next in the same pan, add the minced onions, sauté until translucent. Add the tomato and sauté until the skin starts peeling.
6. Add in the carrot, turnip and celery. Sauté for a few seconds until coated with the onion-tomato mixture. Then add the water / stock, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and cook until vegetables are ½ cooked – this should take about 5 minutes. Add more water and seasoning if needed.
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
~ 3 – 3.5 cups chicken stock / water
Salt to taste (~2 teaspoon)
Pepper powder to taste (2 teaspoon)
7. Next drop in the browned chicken and potatoes, cover again and cook.
8. When everything is about 3/4th cooked, a further 5 minutes, add the small white onions (or spring onions bulbs, if that’s what you’re using) and cook for about a minute – do not overcook.
9. Take a ladleful of the sauce from the stew in a bowl and mix with a tablespoon of the plain flour. Add back to the stew. Let it simmer for a minute and if it needs more thickness, repeat with the remaining flour. If you’d like more sauce, add a bit more stock / water. The consistency should be that of a thick and chunky soup.
~ 1.5 tablespoons plain flour (this is to thicken)
10. Serve hot with warmed brioche or chunky bread / rolls to mop up the stew.
Serves: 4 persons
Apprentice rating: Easy
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