Hearty Chicken (or veg) Stew

You need:

- Mixed chicken pieces
- Onions(for a whole chicken two white onions cut into chunk)
- Ginger (half inch in size and slit)
- Garlic six cloves,sliced.
- 1 bay leaf, half tsp ground clove, ground cinnamon, and ground cardamom
- 2 whole tomatoes diced
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tsp worstershire sauce (optional)
- Vegetables - potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, green beans and beetroot. (You can also use vegetables such as turnips, peas or asparagus. Cut into chunks).

To prepare:

- Coat the chicken pieces with flour, salt and pepper. Brown them and keep aside.
- In a pot heat oil and add the bay leaf.
- Put in the cut vegetables of your choice, onions, ginger and garlic.
- Saute them until they are light brown in color.
- Put in rest of the ingredients salt,pepper and 11/2 tsp of sugar, 3 cups of water (or low sodium chicken stock instead of water).
- Let it simmer on medium low heat for some time, or until the chicken and the veg are soft and tender.
- Thicken the gravy lightly with a little butter, flour and milk mixture..
- Let the stew rest for few minutes then serve with buttermilk biscuits or bread.

Vegetarians:

Use Tofu or Paneer if you want. Or just skip the chicken and use the vegetables of your choice. Use vegetable stock in place of chicken.