Kerala Potato Stew (Ishtu) is a comforting coconut milk curry that’s perfect with appam, puttu, or rice. This traditional South Indian recipe combines tender potatoes in a creamy, mildly spiced coconut gravy that’s naturally vegan and gluten-free.
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➡ If you’re new to Kerala cooking, start with my Kerala Cooking Basics guide for ingredient tips, shopping advice, and more authentic recipes.
Ishtu is derived from the word stew, which was introduced to Kerala when the Portuguese and British were present in India.
Ishtu is one of those Kerala dishes that’s so comforting because of its subtle flavor.
This creamy coconut milk curry is known for being mild, and I love how the simple spices let the natural flavor of the potatoes and coconut shine through.
This Kerala potato stew is as far away as you can get from the rich, heavy, creamy curries of North India, like rogan josh, and chicken tikka masala, or the spicy dishes of South India, like Kerala beef fry or chicken curry.
I especially love serving this with soft appam for breakfast. The combination is one of my favorite Kerala comfort foods.
This recipe is also an important part of the Kerala Onam sadhya banana leaf feast (image below).
➡ If you’re looking for more Onam recipes, try Kerala parippu, mango pachadi, cucumber pachadi (kichadi), vegetable stew, kootu curry, carrot beans thoran, inji curry, sambar, and semiya payasam.
Another popular recipe, Kerala beef curry, is an adaptation of this recipe.
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Ingredients for Ishtu
💡 Ingredient and Recipe Tips
🥥 Coconut milk: Use a good quality coconut milk. I like to use Chaokoh or Aroy D brands.
🥔 Potatoes: Yukon Gold or red potatoes work well for this recipe.
🌶️ Spice Level: This is meant to be a mild curry. Adjust green chilies to your taste.
🔪 Prep: Cut the potatoes into even 1-inch pieces.
🌿 Curry Leaves: Curry leaves are a very important part of this recipe. There is no substitute. They are available in the refrigerated section of Indian grocery stores and are worth seeking out. I buy a bunch and store them in my freezer.
❓ FAQS
I prefer to make this potato ishtu on the day of, because the coconut milk can curdle upon reheating.
You can add carrots, beans, and peas as I do in my Kerala vegetable stew recipe.
I don’t like the taste or consistency of lite coconut milk because the curry becomes too thin.
Coconut oil gives this curry its authentic flavor, especially because it’s drizzled on at the end. I don’t recommend using another oil. You can just omit it.
🥕 How to Make Potato Stew
- Cook the potatoes until tender, but not mushy, in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop.
- In a medium saucepan, bring onions, green chillies, ginger, and salt to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the onions are soft, stirring occasionally.
- Add cooked potatoes, ⅓ cup coconut milk, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the curry thickens. The curry should be creamy but not too thick.
- Smash some of the potatoes with the back of a spoon. Add ¼ cup of coconut milk, and heat through, but don’t boil or it will curdle. Add coconut oil and curry leaves.
See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Kerala Potato Stew Recipe (Ishtu)
Ingredients
- 2 cups potatoes cut into ½-inch cubes
- ½ cup onion chopped (about 1 small)
- 1 green chilli slit lengthwise [See Note 1]
- 1 tablespoon ginger thinly julienned (about a 1 inch piece)
- 7 curry leaves
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 cup water + 3 tablespoons
- ⅓ cup coconut milk
To Finish
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil to finish (optional)
- 7 curry leaves
Instructions
Cook Potatoes in Instant Pot OR
- Add 1 cup water to the inner pot. Place steamer basket with potatoes in the inner pot. The bottom of the basket should be above the level of the water. Pressure cook for 1 minute on high pressure and do a natural pressure release.
Cook Potatoes on Stovetop
- Add potatoes to a medium saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. A knife should easily pierce the potatoes, but it shouldn't be too mushy. Drain.
Make the Stew
- Add ½ cup onion, 1 green chilli, 1 tablespoon ginger, 7 curry leaves, ¾ teaspoon salt, and 3 tablespoons water to a medium saucepan. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the onions are soft, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the cooked potatoes, ⅓ cup coconut milk, and 1 cup water. Cover and cook until the curry has thickened, and the potatoes are soft, about 6 to 7 minutes.
- Using the back of a spoon or ladle, mash some of the potatoes to thicken the stew.
- Add ¼ cup coconut milk and heat through, but do not let it boil, or it will curdle. Remove from heat and adjust salt as needed. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon coconut oil (if using) and add 7 curry leaves.
Notes
- Note 1: This curry isn’t meant to be too spicy. Adjust the quantity of chillies to taste.
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Anna says
Do dry curry leaves work? How many dry leaves would you use in lieu of fresh? Thanks!
Neena Panicker says
Anna, I don’t really like using dry curry leaves. However, if you’d like to use them, double the quantity. Or just omit.