We’ve been MIA since a few days now. And that’s because babyT is down with a bad cold. It’s his first time, he’s confused about what is happening to him and we are at our wits end to make him comfortable.
He wanted to drink milk for healing and comfort but was not able to do this effectively due to his blocked nose and general weakness. We’ve been helping him with lots of cuddles, warm water, garlic and ajwain packs, nasal spray and our new favorite device; the Nose Frida.
Meanwhile we’ve gone from two meals and two snacks to zero solids. BabyT’s appetite has completely vanished. We tried a lot of semi solids to help him but he was not interested and not able to eat them. Then came to the rescue, the renowned chicken soup for the cold.
Chicken soup is known to make all aches go away – physiological and emotional. ? So we tried that and it was lapped up very eagerly. It gave him vital energy when the cold was draining him and helped him start drinking breastmilk again, which in turn healed him faster.
Here’s our recipe:
You will need
- 1 piece of chicken on the bone (drumstick, wing or neck)
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1/2 inch of ginger
- 1 pinch each of turmeric, coriander, cumin powders
- Juice of half a lemon
Marinate the chicken with the above, making sure you have crushed the ginger garlic together to make a coarse paste. I also crushed the flesh and bones lightly so as to let the juices out. Let this marinate for about 30 minutes.
Now for the soup:
Take about two cups of water in a saucepan. To this add:
- 2 crushed peppercorns
- 1/2 inch pc of cinnamon stick
- 1 clove of garlic crushed
- Tiny pinch of ginger slivers
- Grated carrot (about two inch piece)
- 1/4th onion chopped (optional)
- 3-4 stalks of coriander
- 1 mint leaf (optional)
Heat this and just as it is to begin boiling, add the marinated chicken, along with any juices that may have formed. Bring to a boil and then reduce flame to lowest and cook for a good 30-45 minutes. If you feel the water has reduced considerably, add some more.
Once done, strain it or pick just the liquid parts (avoiding onions, coriander, whole spices basically.) Since babyT is still less than one year old, i didn’t add salt. You can enhance flavor with some pepper or cinnamon powder. You can even shred tiny pieces of chicken and feed baby.
This is more like a broth, is light on the stomach yet soulful. If you want to make it more filling add carrot and potato chunks while boiling and mash or purée them once cooked. For older kids you can make a healthy thick soup by making a butter flour base (roux) using ghee/home churned butter with wheat or ragi flour.
The leftovers make a great pick me up before dinner for adults too. Do remember to add some salt and pepper.
