Chicken stew-- one for the lazy holidays

Memorial day is past. And oddly enough I was looking at the calender, longing for 4th of july weekend. And this from a person who does not even hold a regular gruelling 9-5 job and can go or not go to work without anybody asking for an explanation. The perks of being a final year graduate student, I guess :) But even then, there is hardly anything better than an 'official' holiday. Late mornings and lazy days in coffee shops. And with the weather warming up it is indeed the best days to have officially declared holidays.

I don't know about you guys, but I don't like to spend any bit of time in kitchen on lazy holidays. I did mention before that cooking to me is sort of a way to destress. And on holidays, since there is not stress, the very basic need to cook goes away. I love to bake on those days or make light soups. Food that fill up the house with light fragrant aroma. This weekend was one such. I baked a lovely nutty cranberry crumb cake. But before that I made a huge pot of Stew.  Lots of fresh veggies, chicken and tofu..just a bit spiced up.

Trust me...the house smelt of goodness and lightness. Here this is what it looked like. And with this stew ready, it was fun relaxing in the backyard with a book and some green tea.  To me , this is the perfect way to spend a lazy sunny day when you have been officially granted a day off :)

There is nothing much to do, except collect the ingredients

 4 chicken drumsticks. You can also use tons of other veggies ( beans, carrots, beets) to make it a vegie stew.

 extra firm tofu. Cubed. Optional

1 Medium onion. Chopped

2 big tomato. Chopped

1 big bell pepper. Coasrsely chopped

1 Jalapeno. sliced

2 cloves of garlic. Chopped

A bit of ginger: chopped.

1 small potato: cubed very small for quick cooking

Juice of half a lime

A few whole black peppers

2 Bay leaf

1 tbsf coriander powder.

1/2 tsp of corn flour or regular all purpose flour.  Whisk in half a cup of water and use for thickening agent

Salt for seasoning

Put all ingredient, except the Tofu, lemon juice and flour, in a big pot and fill up with water till all the ingredients are submerged.. Cover and heat till everything is done. About 15 minutes. Take the lid off and add the whisked flour and mix well. Let it heat for a couple of more minutes. Turn off the heat and Add a bit of lemon juice.

You have this lovely flavorful simple stew in the kitchen and the day is your's to enjoy

Happy eating and healthy living!