Easy and Hearty Indian Stew (with Ninja Foodi Adaptation)

Cool weather is an invitation for hearty meals at the dinner table. One of our favorite hearty stews for cold weather is an Indian Stew that is chock full of potatoes and carrots and served over a bed of rice.  You heard that right! Rice and potatoes makes this easy and hearty Indian Stew a stick to your ribs kind of meal. 

Indian Stew is a favorite of the family, but my daughter really loves it.  It is always one of her top responses to the question, “what do you want for dinner?”. I always know that when I make it, there will be no issues getting the kids to eat their dinner that night. That makes this a go to dish for me.

This recipe is a little bit of a commitment, so I plan to make it usually on a weekend or day off. While it does take a little bit of time to make, it is well worth the wait! It is also easily adaptable to the Ninja Foodi, which is one of my favorite appliances to use in the kitchen and makes this dish even easier to make.

Ingredients for Indian Stew

While most of the ingredients for Indian Stew are pretty standard ingredients you will likely have in your pantry, fridge, or freezer, there are a few spices that you will need to have in order to get the true flavor of this wonderful Hearty Indian Stew.

Let’s review what our grocery list will look like for this meal before we get started.

Grocery List

• Chicken thighs- bone-in, skin-on
• small onion
• garlic cloves
• tomato paste
• garam masala
• cumin
• chili powder
• coriander
• stock- veggie or chicken
• tomato sauce
• potatoes- gold or fingerling
• baby carrots
• White rice-optional
• Naan Bread-optional

Grocery List Breakdown and Substitutes

Let’s start with the protein. 

This recipe can be made with boneless skinless chicken thighs, but I highly recommend that you use bone in, skin on chicken thighs. These thighs will take the depth of flavor to a whole new level on this hearty stew.  If you are going to spend your time making it, you might as well use the best right?!

If you decide to use boneless skinless, please note that cooking times will vary.

The next ingredient that I want to discuss is Garam Masala.  This nine spice Indian spice has hints of cinnamon and smells divine.  It is one of my favorite spices to use and gives this dish such a wonderfully rich aroma.  Check out the link below to find out where to purchase it!

In this Indian Stew, you will be combining this delicious Garam Masala with cumin, curry powder, and coriander for an authentic Indian feel.

This recipe also calls for potatoes and carrots. 

I personally prefer to use baby carrots because I think they are just so beautiful in this dish, but feel free to use whatever root vegetable you may have. Parsnips would be a great substitute for the carrots!

For the potatoes, I prefer to use a fingerling or small gold potato.  I love using smaller potatoes and being able to keep them whole, but if you use larger potatoes (I have used all kinds) make sure you cut them at a minimum into quarters. 

You will also need onion, garlic, stock, tomato paste and tomato sauce to finish off this recipe!

Dutch Oven or Ninja Foodi?

Now that we have all of the ingredients, lets talk about what to cook it in.

I have done this recipe in the Ninja Foodi as well as a standard dutch oven.  Both work great.  Y’all know how much I love my Ninja Foodi! I think it is about the best thing since sliced bread!

If you don’t know about the Ninja Foodi, let me tell you. It is hands down the best small kitchen appliance one could own. It is an air fryer, pressure cooker, slow cooker all in one. It makes dinner so easy and virtually mess free.

It is great for late night snacks like fries or pizza bites and gives you the best crispy texture. I absolutely love it!

While my Foodi is my best kitchen friend, today we will be doing this Indian Stew in my Dutch Oven. Don’t worry though, I will also give you instructions on how to use the Ninja Foodi as well!

As much as I love my Ninja Foodi, I also love a good cast iron dutch oven.  It is an essential in our kitchen.  It is my go to for soups and stews or even roasts. 

We recommend one that is coated for this recipe as the flavors are very strong and could permeate a standard cast iron with no coating. Check out our pick! 

Okay Ya’ll, I have talked enough, we are all set to start cooking!

Instructions for Indian Stew

Heat one tablespoon of canola oil in the Dutch Oven over medium high heat.  If using the Foodi, turn to sauté MedHi.  

Salt both side of your chicken thighs and place them skin down in the hot oil.  Allow these bad boys to cook for about 10 minutes without touching or turning them.  

While the chicken is crisping up, dice your onions and garlic.

Once the skin on the chicken is crispy, remove from the pan and set aside (note:the chicken should not be cooked through at this point) 

Add onions and garlic to the pan that the chicken was just removed from. Sauté until the onions are translucent and the mixture is fragrant.

Add tomato paste and cook for one minute before adding in the spices and salt.  

Cook the spice mixture for three to four minutes, stirring constantly. 

Next add in the tomato sauce, stock, and carrots and stir to mix.  You will have a glossy and beautiful gravy at this point.

Then add the chicken and any of its juices into the pot.  The chicken should nestle nicely in the beautiful gravy. Place the lid on the Dutch oven and cook on medium for one hour. 

If using a Ninja Foodi, you will turn the Foodi to Hi under the slow cooker setting and allow the mixture to cook for one hour covered.

At the one hour mark, remove the chicken.  It should be fall off the bone tender at this point. Allow it to cool before removing the skin and bones to discard. 

Add the cooked chicken back into the pot along with the whole baby potatoes.  Cook  over medium heat for another hour to hour and a half or until the potatoes are fork tender. 

For the Foodi, you will follow the same steps as above only return the temperature on the slow cooker setting to Hi for two to three hours or until the potatoes are fork tender. 

What to Serve with Indian Stew

This hearty Indian Stew can be eaten just as it is or you can serve it over a bed of rice.  The rice really takes it to the next level of stick to your ribs goodness! 

We also love to serve warmed Naan bread along side this lovely dish to sop up all of the gravy!

If You Love this Recipe, Check out these!

We are big fans of stick to your rib kind of meals. If you are like us, check out some of our other favorites on the blog.

• Hearty Chili
• Beef Stew in the Ninja Foodi
• Spicy Shrimp and Grits
• Chicken and Dumplings

These meals will have you and your family asking for more!

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Hearty Indian Stew

A delicious and hearty Indian Stew full of Potatoes and Carrots

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings 5 servings

Equipment

• Enamel Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Ingredients

  

• 4 Chicken Thighs bone in-skin on
• 1 Small Onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic diced
• 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 2 tsp Garam Masala
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups Stock
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 12- 16 oz fingerling potatoes
• 1 cup baby Carrots

Instructions

 

• Heat canola oil in dutch oven over med high heat. Add chicken skin side down and allow to cook for 8-10 minutes without turning
• Remove chicken from pan and add diced garlic and onions, sauté until translucent
• Add tomato paste, spices, and salt. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Add tomato sauce, stock and carrots. Return chicken to pan.
• Cook covered for 1 hour over medium high heat
• Remove chicken from gravy and allow to cool before removing chicken from bone and skin.
• Return pulled chicken to pan along with potatoes
• Cook covered over medium heat for 1.5 hours or until potatoes are fork tender
• Serve over cooked white rice

Keyword Indian Stew, stew

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