Turmeric Chicken Soup Recipe | by Andrea Juarez

tumeric chicken soup

Posted on Fri, Dec 28, 2012

Turmeric is the king of herbs and spices. Also referred to as “tumeric,” the golden spice is derived from a root related to ginger. Its flavor is sharp and tart with peppery undertones. Its anticarcinogenic properties (cancer fighting) put it at the top of this list of must haves in your spice rack.

Serves 6Tumeric Spice

  1. 3 tablespoons olive oil or ghee
  2. 1/2 medium onion – diced
  3. 2 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger – julienned and cut into 1 inch pieces
  4. 3 cloves fresh garlic – minced
  5. 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  6. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  7. Pinch red pepper flakes or dash cayenne pepper
  8. 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  9. 2 stalks of celery – diced 1/2 inch pieces
  10. 3 carrots – diced 1 inch pieces
  11. 1 large potato or 2 small – diced 1 inch pieces
  12. 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  13. 3/4 cup brown or golden lentils – sorted to remove debris and rinsed or 1 (16 oz) can cooked lentils
  14. 2 medium chicken breasts – cooked and shredded or if uncooked, sliced thinly crosswise (about 1/4 inch thick)
  15. 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Salt to taste

In a large heavy pot, heat oil and saute onion and ginger for about 2 minutes until soft but not brown. Add garlic, cumin, turmeric, cayenne and black pepper, saute for about 1 minute. Next add celery, carrots and potatoes – stir to coat, be careful not to burn garlic. Add stock and dry lentils. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 50 minutes. Add chicken to the soup. When the chicken is heated throughout (or cooked throughout if using raw chicken), add the ground cinnamon, stir. Serve hot and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Andrea Juarez is an award-winning writer and a hobbyist food anthropologist. In her blog Fork Fingers Chopsticks, she explores the different cultural uses of an ingredient. She writes about one ingredient at a time, providing recipes and interesting tidbits for each. For recipes using these spices visit ForkFingersChopsticks.com

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Comments
  1. Carol McCoy says:

    If this tastes even half as good as it smells cooking we will all taste the soup. Family has bad colds/flu and feeling punky, so we’re giving this a try. Will try to remember to come back on and let you know how we liked it.

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  3. […] symptoms of seasonal allergies. You can enjoy this spice in Indian dishes such as curry or turmeric chicken soup. It can also be found in pill or powder […]

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