Description
A Pakistani-style chicken soup made with a slow-simmered yakhni broth infused with smoky onion, whole spices, and finished with lemon, green chiles, and fresh cilantro.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken (bones and meat)
8–10 black peppercorns
4–5 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 large onion, blackened over open flame or in a dry skillet
2-inch piece of ginger
2–3 green chiles, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt, to taste
Optional: cooked white rice
Instructions
- Place whole chicken, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon sticks, blackened onion, and ginger in a large pot. Cover with water.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 2 hours, skimming off any foam.
- Remove chicken from the pot, shred the meat, and set aside.
- Strain the broth, discarding solids.
- When ready to serve, add shredded chicken back to the broth.
- Stir in lemon juice, green chiles, freshly ground black pepper, and chopped cilantro.
- Optional: add cooked white rice for a heartier soup. Serve hot.
Notes
- Use chicken thighs or drumsticks if you don’t have a whole chicken, though bones add more flavor.
- Extra whole spices like cardamom, bay leaf, or coriander seeds can be added for a more aromatic broth.
- Simmer for 4–6 hours for deeper flavor, or use a pressure cooker to reduce time.
- Adjust the number of green chiles for desired spice level.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Soup
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: Pakistani
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe
- Calories: 210
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 480mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 3g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 28g
- Cholesterol: 85mg
