Lemon- Chicken soup. A cure for weariness

So Thanksgiving is over. Black Friday madness is gone too (I managed to keep things under 20$ !). And now, most of us face overfilled bellies, sluggishness and the fact that half the holiday is gone. Sigh..sigh..sigh...:). Good thing is, now, I get to read about all the wonderful posts and treats. I have often said that eating is an anticlimax of food. It gets over so quick. But food stories make their rounds forever and that is-- to me-- much much more fulfilling. But yes, the mind does get tired, just like the belly, of all the fantastic gourmet ' stuff and ings'. And it starts to crave a bit of sanity..a bit of banality ...a bit of ' lack of' fantasticness ( I coined this word :))

That was me today evening. Craving for something light and warm. But not without flavor. Not bland. And what do I make ? A warm, light soup-- all from my imagination. With a bit of enthusiasm from my sister. She told me of this awesome sounding soup that she had while vacationing among the green green mountains of the eastern Himalayas in India. Shillong-- the place is called.

She told me how she walked miles and miles on these winding roads, through valleys amidst green mountains and huge waterfalls. And on one such day she stopped in some little eatery ( basically a household kitchen opened up to serve food for a little money) and had this soup. Lemon chicken soup.

Sounded so soothing and light and fragrant..that I started off making it (she did not know the recipe) from what she described. Added bits and pieces. And voila ..a soup that, I believe, is comforting not just to the tired belly and the weary leg...but also to the mind, so full of richly goodness :)

Lemon chicken soup-- as I understand it :)

Ingredients (makes for two)

3/4 th cup of chicken. Cubed.

1/2 cup of chicken stock

A  small bundle of rice noodle. Broken into small pieces.

Tip: You can also use thin pasta, or even ramen noodles.

1 big garlic clove. Minced

1/2 a big tomato. Cubed

1 green chili. Chopped. You can substitute with jalapeno

2 tsp of corn flour

1 tsp of coriander powder. If you hate coriander powder, I suggest substituting it with cumin powder. Will have a different flavor..but will be equally great.

A handful of dill.

1/3 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 cups of water.

What is to making a soup? Boiling :)

Wash the chicken and place in a big pot. Add 2.5 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Add the stock, garlic, tomato, chili and bring everything to a boil (You will notice that once you drop additional ingredients in a boiling pot, the boiling stops. So the idea is to bring it back to a boil). Let boil for 5 minutes. Add the broken noodles. Let boil. Meanwhile add 3 tbsf water to the cornflour and whisk till no clumps remain. Add the cornflour to the soup. Add the coriander/ cumin powder, the dill and squeeze the juice of the lemon into the soup. And Keep on the boil for ~ 5 minutes. Remember to stir all the time. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.

You have your soup ready...and is that not healthy and flavorful?

Happy eating and healthy living!