Turmeric-Infused Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Along with turmeric’s well-documented health benefits this soup adds the heavenly scent of cinnamon and cloves, the kick of a little freshly ground black pepper and the accent of ginger and garlic. While it may not cure colds, I do think it will lift the blues that come with having one.
Tips: Buy a three-pound chicken and cut it into pieces or use bone in chicken pieces to achieve the most flavourful soup. You can add a little more turmeric at the end of the cooking time if you’d like to amplify the soup’s golden hue.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 to 10 servings
- Category: Soups
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
2-3 lb chicken – cut in pieces or whole
Water to cover and a little more
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
5 small pieces of cinnamon bark
6 whole cloves
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup wild rice
4 cups water
Olive oil
½ cup finely chopped onion (1 medium)
2 diced carrots
2 stalks diced celery
2 small zucchini, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons finely cut fresh coriander leaves
Instructions
- Place the chicken, water, whole peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, garlic and turmeric in a large soup pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer partially covered for 1 to 2 hours or until the chicken is falling off the bones.
- Meanwhile, place the wild rice and 4 cups of water in another pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes and then turn off heat, keep covered and allow the rest of the water to be absorbed. Set aside.
- Remove the chicken from the soup once cooked, let it cool and then remove the meat from the bones.
- Strain the whole spices from the broth. Set the broth aside and discard the whole spices. Tip: I strain through a cheese cloth to get a clear broth.
- Heat the olive oil on medium heat and add the onion, carrots and celery cooking about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent but not browned. Add the zucchini and cook a few minutes more.
- Add the reserved broth, chicken and wild rice to the pot.
- Taste and season the soup with the salt and pepper. Tip: You may like to add a little more ginger as well.
- Garnish with the cilantro.
- Enjoy by the steaming hot bowl full – cold or no cold.
Keywords: Turmeric-Infused Chicken and Wild Rice Soup