A Warm Winter Soup That's Good For Body and Soul!

Sometimes I don't know where my food blog begins and where my personal blog ends...the lines begin to blur after a while.

Like today, my recipe is for a soup that I make for my son, and I thought about it because today was a sort of landmark day for me-in the 16 months since he's been born, I was away from him for nearly 8 hours today, for the first time ever. Up until now, I've only been away from him for a maximum of 2 to 3 hours, but today was an exception as I had a class to attend, and so with my husband holding fort, I bravely set out, but with my heart in my mouth, all along thinking about them and calling up whenever I could. I needn't have worried, because apparently father and son had a great bonding time, with Riyaan eating and sleeping like a model baby-maybe he understood I was away and he shouldn't be any trouble for his dad! But the moment I walked into the door and he saw me, the way he came running and crying, "mummeee mummeee"....whoa! I was hit with a whole truckload of emotions I never even knew I had in me! Every little thing I've done for him till now seemed worth it, all the so-called "trouble" and "efforts" I take to give him the right foods, the right nutrition, the right upbringing, values, etc. etc...And of course, the right soup!

This soup is great to have in the cold, winter months. It's great for adults too and is packed with the goodness of cereals, proteins, leafy greens and vegetables. Its an amalgamation of recipes I got from two friends, Anita and Priya, with the end result being a new, but equally hale and hearty soup, which has been certified delicious by Riyaan and his friend Prathulya (Priya's son)...So here's the recipe, to serve 2.

1. 1 chicken breast, or 2 large pieces of chicken, chopped into chunks
2. 1-inch piece ginger, slit fine (julienned)
3. 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
4. 1 medium carrot, washed, peeled and diced
5. Half a bunch spinach leaves, washed and chopped
6. 1 teaspoon cornflour (optional), dissolved in 1/4th cup warm water
7. Salt and pepper to taste
8. 1/2 cup milk

• In a pressure cooker, put in the washed chicken pieces, ginger, salt and pepper.
• Pour enough water to cover.
• Close the lid, place the weight on, and after the first whistle, simmer for 8 minutes.
• When cool, open, and if you've used chicken pieces with the bone, remove from the cooker and debone it, then put it back into the cooker.
• Now, into the broth in the pressure cooker, add in the rest of the ingredients (with the already cooked chicken also), except the milk.
• Pressure cook again for 10 minutes, if making for toddlers, and for 5 minutes if it's for grownups.
• When cool, puree the mixture in your blender, adding the milk to make it smoother.
• Warm again if necessary.
• Transfer to a soup bowl and slurp away-feel the soup warm up your cold-battered bones!

TIPS:

For grownups, garnish with a dollop of cream and croutons.

You could also add other dried herbs as seasonings, like oregano or thyme.

For my friends who are novices in cooking-To make croutons, just cut bread slices into cubes and saute them in butter on low heat until golden brown on all sides. Dunk them into the soup when you're ready to eat...adds an extra crunchy yummy texture to the soup.

Vegetarians can make this soup by substituting the chicken with a cup of mixed vegetables instead.