Chicken Pepper Soup

First we will have to make a spice paste. Dry roast all the spices on a low flame till golden and fragrant. Transfer the roasted spices to a mixie jar and grind to a fine powder. Once the spices are ground to a powder, add in the tomatoes and the garlic and grind again to a paste. Add little water if necessary while grinding the tomatoes. Set aside

Take a pressure cooker and add in the chicken. Chicken with a lot of bones is preferred for making this soup as the bones will release its flavour and collagen etc… which is really good for treating colds. You can also make this soup with just bones too. Add in the turmeric powder and the salt. Wash the mixie with little water and add to the cooker. I added a total of three cups of water. Cover the cooker and cook for about 20 minutes on low flame. Ignore the number of whistles. Once the pressure settles, open the cooker and remove the chicken. Shred the chicken and discard the bones. Set aside.

Heat sesame oil in a kadai. When the oil is hot, add in the mustard seeds and the cumin seeds. Add in the curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add in the shallots and sauté till the shallots are nice and soft.

Add in the shredded chicken and sauté for a few seconds. Add in the cooked chicken stock and the coconut milk. Adjust for seasoning and add salt if necessary.  I have used home made coconut milk for making this recipe today. I have used half a cup each of fresh pressed milk and second pressed milk. Coconut milk tends to soothe the tummy at this time.

Add in the coriander leaves and bring the chicken soup to a boil. Once the soup boils, remove from heat. Serve the soup hot with rice.