~408 cal · 6g protein · 42g carbs · 26g fat (estimated, per serving)
🍽️
Pale coconut stew with potatoes, carrots, and curry leaves
🇮🇳 Kerala
Ishtu — the word is a Malayalam rendering of "stew" — grew out of colonial-era kitchens on the Malabar coast and settled into Sunday-breakfast tradition beside lacy appam pancakes. It proves a point Kerala makes often: coconut milk and curry leaves need very little help.
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🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 4 —
•
3 yukon gold potatoes, cubed
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2 cups carrots and green beans, cut
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14 oz can, cream and milk separated coconut milk
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2 tbsp fresh ginger, julienned
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3 green chilies, slit
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2 sprigs fresh curry leaves
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3 whole cloves
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3 cardamom
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1 stick cinnamon
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2 tbsp coconut oil
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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. Simmer gently 15 minutes until tender.
3
Pour in the thick coconut cream and warm through without boiling — boiling splits it.
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. The spice coast — coconut groves, backwaters, and pepper vines.
🗺️
India. A subcontinent where every state is its own food country.
🌍
Asia. From street-cart woks to slow monastery kitchens.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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