Creamy Chicken Soup

Flavoured with onions, this chicken soup itself is very filling on its own. With croutons or crisp garlic bread it can become a complete meal to snack on in the cold afternoons.

Serving for 4 people

Time needed- 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1. �         Onions, chopped finely- l large onion
2. �         Chicken breast meat- should be boneless-200gram
3. �         Salt to taste
4. �         Tomatoes chopped- 2 large tomatoes
5. �         Red chilli powder or paprika powder- as per your taste
6. �         Fresh basil leaves- 4-8 for garnishing
7. �         A pinch of soda bicarbonate
8. �         Black pepper powder- as per your taste
9. �         Fresh cream- 6 tablespoon
10. �         Chicken stock- 1 litre
11. �         Butter- 4 tablespoon
12. �         Seasoning- oregano and rosemary powder

Direction for preparation:

�         Prepare the chicken stock in 2 litres of water with the bones, chopped carrots and onions. Boil till the water in educed to half. You can also use stock cubes or chicken stock that has been prepared earlier however, the soup tastes at its best when prepared with freshly prepared stock of chicken.

�         In a pan, heat the butter and once it is hot enough, add the chopped onions to the pan. Saut� the oions for a while until the onions starts to turn golden in colour.

�         Cut the chicken in small pieces such that they would be easy to thoroughly cook and add them to the pan while continuing to saut� the onions. Add the amount of salt that you would prefer for the preparation in this step and also the peppers. Add red chilli or paprika to the mixture and stir continuously. Make sure that they do not start sticking to the pan or get burned.

�         Add the chicken stock over this mixture and also a pich of soda bicarbonate in this particular step. Cook it for 10-15 minutes until the chicken pieces are thoroughly cooked and very tender to touch.

�         Take it off the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Once it is cold enough, put the preparation in the blender and blend it thoroughly unless it is smooth and thick enough.

�         Pour the puree into the frying pan which is larger or has more depth. If required add a little more of the chicken stock to it or water to adjust the consistency as per your liking. Bring it to boil on the heat.

�         Add the seasoning to the soup in this step and use them amply but make sure that the scent of the onions and chicken is not completely covered up by the scent of the seasoning.

�         Add half of the fresh cream to the preparation while it is still boiling. Once you have served the soup in individual bowls, add the rest of the fresh cream to the individual bowls. Garnish the soup with the basil leaves and serve it along with croutons or freshly prepared ginger bread.

�         Do ensure that the soup is kept on the heat for at least two minutes after you have added the seasoning and fresh cream for the flavours to get absorbed.