Chicken Shorba | Spiced Chicken Soup

Chicken shorba. The utterly delicious combination of coriander (cilantro) leaves, chicken and spices make the flavors pop. Paired with tangy lemon slices, the flavor quotient is brought up a notch to delight your taste buds. Comfort, warmth, and deliciousness – all in one bowl.

Out of all the delicious comfort foods, soups reign supreme. And shorba is soup. To be precise, flavored soup. Aromatic, warm, and comforting soups laden with spices. We love them! Obviously, there are countless ways to make flavored or spiced soups, here’s the classic version to inspire your next culinary adventure.

Chicken shorba. It’s all about the flavored version of your favorite comforting chicken soup. Chicken, coriander (cilantro) leaves, and spices form the base of this amazing recipe, and the extra addition of lemon slices bring in striking pop of flavor.

Chicken Shorba Recipe

The green ground paste – With coriander (cilantro) leaves as the the key ingredient, the ground paste is a combination of garlic, ginger, green chilies, and of course, coriander or cilantro leaves.

Chicken soup or shorba – Traditionally, shorba is made with bone-in chicken, but I have opted for boneless chicken thighs in this recipe. Sauté chicken in a little oil with onions until the pieces get a light brown color on all sides. Stir fry with a little cinnamon and cardamom. Next up, cook chicken with the green sauce, chicken broth (stock) and water. Once the chicken pieces are cooked through, you can squeeze in fresh lemon juice. Absolutely delicious!

More Chicken Soup Recipes:

• Creamy Butter Chicken Soup
• Slow Cooker Chicken Soup – Indian Style 
• South Indian Chicken Soup / Chettinadu Chicken Soup
• Chicken Celery Soup

Yield: 4

Chicken Shorba | Spiced Chicken Soup

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This chicken shorba or spiced chicken soup loaded with chicken and aromatic spices is comfort in a bowl

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

Ground Paste:

• 1 cup coriander (cilantro) leaves and stems
• 3 shallots, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cm ginger, chopped
• 1 green chili, chopped
• Water

Shorba:

• 2 tablespoons ghee or oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 600 g chicken, cut into 3 cm pieces (I used chicken thigh fillets) (see notes)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 2 cm cinnamon stick
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves or 3 cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom or 3 cardamom pods
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (stock)
• 1/2 cup water
• Juice of 1 small lemon

Garnish:

• Lemon slices
• Coriander (cilantro) leaves

To serve:

• Bread or naan

Instructions

1. To make the paste, place coriander (cilantro) leaves and stems, shallots, black peppercorns, garlic, ginger and green chilies in a food processor. Add enough water to process to a smooth paste. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat ghee or oil in a large frying pan or skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add bay leaf and cumin seeds. Sauté for 1 minute.
4. Add chopped onions. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes or until soft.
5. Add chicken. Stir fry for 7-10 minutes or until the chicken pieces are lightly browned.
6. Add turmeric, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Sauté, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic.
7. Add ground paste, chicken broth (stock) and water. Cook, covered, for about 6-7 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
8. Add lemon juice. Heat through.
9. Garnish with lemon slices and coriander (cilantro) leaves.
10. Serve with bread and naan. 

Notes

• The traditional version of the soup is made with bone-in chicken pieces
• You can use cornstarch (corn flour or cornstarch and water) slurry to thicken the soup

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 562Total Fat 32gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 19gCholesterol 158mgSodium 378mgCarbohydrates 29gFiber 4gSugar 6gProtein 41g

The nutritional data is for information purposes only

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