Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Kerala Ishtu (Coconut Vegetable Stew)
A gentle, fragrant stew of potatoes and vegetables in coconut milk with ginger, green chili, and curry leaves.
South Indian (Kerala) · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 25 min
~555 cal · 16g protein · 68g carbs · 27g fat · 15g fiber · 11g sugars · 23g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Kerala ishtu (stew) is a gentle, fragrant coconut-milk stew of potatoes and vegetables, delicately spiced with , cloves, cinnamon, and rather than chili heat. The name is an Indianization of the English 'stew,' a legacy of the colonial-era Anglo-Indian and Syrian Christian kitchens of Kerala's Malabar coast.
Unlike the fiery curries of much of India, ishtu is pale, mild, and aromatic, its richness from thick and its perfume from whole warm spices bloomed in coconut oil. It draws on Kerala's abundant coconut and its place on the old spice-trade coast.
Classically eaten at breakfast with appam, the soft, lacy rice-and-coconut pancakes that soak up the stew, ishtu belongs to Kerala's Christian communities and is served especially at Easter and celebrations.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
3 yukon gold potatoes, cubed
1 cup carrots, cut
1 cup green beans, cut
14 oz can , thick cream and thin milk separated
2 tbsp fresh ginger,
3 green chilies, slit
2 sprigs fresh
Hard to find? a shredded makrut lime leaf, about one for every five or six curry leaves - both are glossy oil-rich leaves that give up their aroma the moment they hit hot fat, which is why this works for tempering where a bay leaf does not. Dried curry leaves are a poor shadow but curry leaves freeze extremely well
3 whole cloves
3
1 stick cinnamon
2 tbsp coconut oil
4 shallots, sliced
Instructions
1
Bloom the whole spices in coconut oil, then soften the shallots, ginger, chilies, and half the curry leaves.
2
Add the vegetables and the thinner coconut milk with 1/2 cup water, and simmer gently 15 minutes until tender.
3
Pour in the thick coconut cream and warm through gently, without letting it boil.
✎ Chef’s note
Add the thick coconut cream at the end and never let it boil, as boiling makes it split into grainy curds and oil.
4
Finish with the rest of the curry leaves fried crisp in a spoon of coconut oil. Serve with appam, dosa, or rice.
Malabar coast Sunday tables.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Kerala. Kerala's tropical coast cooks with coconut in everything, fish curries, appam, and vegetable stews scented with curry leaves and mustard seed. Spice-trade history and backwater seafood define 'God's own country.'
🗺️
India. India is less a single cuisine than a subcontinent of them, where every state cooks differently, coconut-rich curries in the south, tandoor breads and rich gravies in the north, vegetarian thalis in the west. A vast spice vocabulary and deep vegetarian traditions make it one of the world's most varied tables.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
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Good to know
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Kerala Ishtu (Coconut Vegetable Stew)?
A gentle, fragrant stew of potatoes and vegetables in coconut milk with ginger, green chili, and curry leaves.
Where does Kerala Ishtu (Coconut Vegetable Stew) come from?
Kerala Ishtu (Coconut Vegetable Stew) is a South Indian (Kerala) dish from Kerala, India.
Can Kerala Ishtu (Coconut Vegetable Stew) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Kerala Ishtu (Coconut Vegetable Stew) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Kerala Ishtu (Coconut Vegetable Stew) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Kerala Ishtu (Coconut Vegetable Stew) take to make?
About 40 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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