Krishna Sen's Chicken Stew

Serving Size: 6 persons

Ingredients:

*Chicken - 1 kg cut into small pcs

Mushrooms (optional) -100g, halved

Onions -1-2 medium, cut into circles

Ginger - 1/2 inch, cut into juliennes

Capsicum (a.k.a. bell peppers) - 2 medium sized, cut into circular rings

Potatoes - 2 medium, cut into 1/2 inch circular rings

Baby carrots or suitable small sized carrots - 4-6, cut into 1/2 inch thick rings

Green peas -1/2 a cup

Black pepper - 1 tsp, fresh and coarsely ground

Cinnamon - 1/2 inch stick

Green cardamom - 2 whole

Salt - To taste

Green Chillies - 3, slit into half

Milk -1/2 a cup

Butter - 2 tbsp

*Krishna always uses Country Chicken or Cornish Game Hen, the freshest vegetables you can find, and fresh ground pepper

Cooking procedure:

1. In a large pan, heat the butter until a pinch of sugar added into it begins to caramelize.

2. Add green cardamom and cinnamon to butter and let splutter.

3. Then add the chicken pieces and saute' turning pieces frequently until they turn light brown (2-3 minutes).

4. Add vegetables including mushrooms, just keep the peas aside for later. Using a spatula, turn them over gently until they are coated with the butter (1-2 minutes)

5. Add the peas, fresh pepper, and mix into the rest of the stew.

6. Pour in water (preferably warm water that is readied before-hand) until the vegetables are almost covered. Remember that vegetables will quickly shrink and go under the water in a few minutes, so do not add too much water at this stage.

7. Add salt to taste, and let the stew come to a boil. Lower the heat, cover the pan, and keep on low-to-medium heat for at least 30 minutes. This is critical as less than 30 minutes stewing time does not taste as good. Longer times at lower heat works well, too.

8. Check the contents periodically to make sure that water does not dry out, if it does add warm water. Check whether the chicken and potatoes are tender.

9. After chicken is cooked, simmer and pour in the milk stirring gently. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, garnish the stew with chopped coriander. Serve immediately piping hot, with white rice and a wedge of fresh lemon.

Serving Suggestions: