INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil or olive oil
  • 1 carrot peeled and cut into bite size
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 celery stalks cut into bite size
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes
  • ½ cup freshly torn basil leaves
  • 1 can chicken broth with low salt
  • 1 bay leaf
  •  1 tablespoon tomato puree
  • 2 chicken breast with ribs
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 can be rinsed and drained kidney beans

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a big saucepan on high heat. Add the chopped onions, carrot, and celery stalks. Saute the vegetables for five minutes or till the onion has turned translucent. Season it with pepper and salt. Stir the chopped tomatoes along with the juice, torn basil leaves, chicken broth, thyme, tomato puree, and bay leaf. When the juice comes to boil, add the breast pieces of chicken. Press it properly so that it submerges in the juice. This will allow the chicken to be juicy and moist.
  2. As the juice is cooked through, simmer the flame. After one minute keep the heat to medium and then simmer again after 30 seconds. Turn over the chicken breast and stir the mixture from time to time. This will keep the chicken from being overcooked. Keep doing this for twenty-five minutes. Use tongs and take out the chicken breast and keep it on a serving plate. Let it cook for five minutes. If you want you can take out the bay leaf and discard it. Add the washed and drained kidney beans to the pot and then keep it on a low flame, till the liquid reduces to the consistency of a stew or for a period of ten minutes.

  1. As the chicken cools down, take out the chicken skin from the breast pieces and discard it. Cut or shred the chicken, as per your preference. Put the chicken pieces back into the cooked stew. Simmer the stew and allow it to cook for two minutes. Add more pepper and salt to taste, if required.
  2. Take out the saucepan from heat and ladle the chicken stew into serving bowls. Serve it hot with crusty bread.

NOTES – You can replace chopped tomatoes with roasted tomato garlic sauce.