POTATO STEW

  Kerala potato stew - ishtu is a delicious dish. That's often served in Kerala as a side dish in several festivals and special ceremonies. Even its prepared in liquid form to enjoy the taste with breakfast or evening snacks like chapatis, dosa
 Idiyappam etc. Its enriched with coconut milkand coconut oil that enhances the curry's taste
 and perfection.

 The ingredients used are as follows:-

 3                            POTATOES
 1 1/2                      ONION (MEDIUM SIZED)
 1/2 PART              COCONUT GRATED
 5-6                        GREEN CHILLIES
 1 TSP                    GINGER CHOPPED
 2 TSP                    COCONUT OIL
 CURRY LEAVES, SALT

Chop the potatoes into cube sized. Slice the onion into length wise. Scratch green chilies in the middle of each. Make a spoonful of ginger
finely chopped. Keep it aside and we have to make coconut milk.

Take a mixie jar. Add the grated coconut and1/2 glass of water. Crush it with two time rotation.
Take a bowl and take coconut milk by squeezing it hardly. Have to make two types of coconut milk. Thick and thin. First squeeze and take thick coconut milk and then the thin milk.While making thin milk add 3/4 of water.






Take a pressure cooker, add the chopped onion, potatoes, thin coconut milk, little curry leaves 
and salt. If coconut milk is less you can add a little water. So that the pieces should be immersed in water. Add little salt, cook with one time whistle in medium flame.

Open the cooker when the pressure settles down automatically. Check the vegetable cooked. Then mash little pieces of potato. Don't mash the whole. Some with the back side of the ladle. This option is to get the dish thick. You may find coconut water curdled, no need to worry. This appearance disappears after its totally cooked. Otherwise you can even use water instead of thin coconut milk. But to enhance the authentic taste of ishtu you have to make in the coconut milk itself from the beginning.

After above procedures, boil the ishtu in high flame for 3 minutes with lid opened. Add thick coconut milk, green chilies and ginger. Stir it. Taste salt and add if required. Finally add coconut oil and few curry leaves and mix.

Thus ishtu is ready to be served.

Ishtu prepared in feast differs.
They make it solid with very little gravy. Thats served as side dish with rice.