Kids and toddler recipes: Homemade chicken broth

The last couple of weeks had been very hectic with the kids being sick most of the time. One would recover from a nasty bout of flu and the other one would pick it up. We were spending many sleepless nights checking their temperatures and cough. The little ones are doing much better now and I have been giving them soups and broths more frequently to keep the cold and cough at bay.  I did not want to give them the readymade soups, so I started making soups like chicken noodle soups, vegetable soups, and chicken broth for the kids.  I also added a little bit of heat and spices like fennel and hing, so that the kids will like it better.

Coming on to this broth recipe, this was the only one my son was consuming on a regular basis, especially on days when he had the fever. I usually serve this broth as midday snack, an hour before lunch. This did bring the runny nose and cough down a little.  You can serve this soup is sippy cups and this comes in handy when the child does not want to eat or drink anything at all on sick days.

Ingredients:
1. Chicken, 3-4 small pieces.
2.  Water, 3 cups.
3.  Turmeric powder, a pinch.
4. Ginger-garlic paste, 1/4 teaspoon.
5. Pepper powder, less than a pinch.
6. Asafetida, a pinch.
7. Fennel seeds powder, a pinch.
8. Salt as per taste.

Method:
Cook the chicken with all the spices and water either in a pressure cooker for 2-3 whistles for 10 minutes or cook the soup by boiling the chicken with the water and spices in a pot for 15-20 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces from the soup and filter the broth, and serve the warm broth in cups or sippy cups.

Variation:
If serving this broth for big kids or grownups, go a little generous with the spices and some chili powder can also be added, if preferred.