When you can make your own, wonderful stock at home, why go through the trouble of buying it off the grocer's shelf, asks Aneesha Coelho.
With the weather being as unpredictable as it has been lately, it's little wonder that people all around me are dropping like flies. From a nasty case of the sniffles to a bout of viral flu, everyone I've called in the last week is suffering from some ailment or the other.
I've been recommending a good chicken soup to all and sundry, blithely forgetting one very important fact: the basis of a good chicken soup is a good chicken stock, and in India, a good chicken stock is simply not available to buy.
In other parts of the globe, entire supermarket aisles are dedicated to stock. And this is as it should be, because stock forms the foundation of so many of the best dishes in the world. Walk down one of these dedicated-to-stock aisles in London or Sydney and you'll find dozens of varieties of chicken, vegetable, beef, fish and prawn stock.
There are the less expensive, generic brands and some which cost more for a carton than you'd pay at a restaurant for an entire meal. There are fat reduced stocks, sodium reduced stocks, white stocks, brown stocks, Bouillons, Remouillage… it's enough to make your head spin.
In India, however, all I've ever found are some very dodgy chicken stock cubes, with Arabic writing all over them, which, upon closer examination of the ingredient list, turn out little more than brown cubes of salt and MSG.
But that was before I discovered how fabulously easy it is to make my own stock. I did it once and I'm never going back to the terrible cubes. Here's why:
It just tastes so much better. I can honestly say that homemade stock tastes a million times better than any stock I have ever bought (including the really expensive ones) and adds real depth and flavour to every dish I use it in
It is very good for you. There's a reason why chicken soup is considered medicine and that is because the gelatine in homemade broth naturally contains calcium, minerals, and has other immune boosting properties.
It is the perfect combatant to waste. Chicken stock is made using those bits of the chicken that are usually thrown away. While I am not a vegetarian, I feel that we should treat the death of an animal with respect and part of that respect lies in utilising every part of that chicken as much as possible.
Here's a recipe that I use to make chicken stock. You can either buy the raw chicken carcasses from your neighbourhood chicken store (mine calls it junta chicken, meaning the necks and backs and it is very inexpensive) or you can wrap and store cooked chicken bones in your freezer as you go along, until you have enough to make your stock.
Recipe
Ingredients: 2 kilos of raw or cooked chicken bones, 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into two-inch pieces, 2 celery stalks, cut into two-inch pieces, leaves removed, a large onion, peeled and quartered, six cloves of garlic peeled, 1 tablespoon of black peppercorns, a small bunch parsley (with stems) washed, 1 teaspoon of salt, cold water to cover.
Method: Place all of the ingredients in a large pot. Fill the pot with cold water until it just covers the chicken. Over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Reduce the temperature to a simmer. Using a large spoon or ladle, skim off the foam as it appears at the top of your stock. Continue this until there is very little foam on top, about an hour. Continue to simmer the chicken stock for about three hours, until it develops a rich, chicken flavour.
Remove the pot from heat. Strain your stock and cool it down. As it cools, your stock may develop a layer of fat on the top. Leave this on until you are ready to first use the stock. This will protect it from exposure to the air. When ready to use, just spoon off the fat. Chicken stock will stay fresh for about a week if refrigerated.
It also freezes well. While freezing, transfer the stock to smaller containers, so you only have to defrost what you need. I usually freeze it in half a litre or two cup portions. And there you have it, your very own chicken stock, ready for use in soups, sauces, pilafs and more.
With the weather being as unpredictable as it has been lately, it's little wonder that people all around me are dropping like flies. From a nasty case of the sniffles to a bout of viral flu, everyone I've called in the last week is suffering from some ailment or the other.
I've been recommending a good chicken soup to all and sundry, blithely forgetting one very important fact: the basis of a good chicken soup is a good chicken stock, and in India, a good chicken stock is simply not available to buy.
In other parts of the globe, entire supermarket aisles are dedicated to stock. And this is as it should be, because stock forms the foundation of so many of the best dishes in the world. Walk down one of these dedicated-to-stock aisles in London or Sydney and you'll find dozens of varieties of chicken, vegetable, beef, fish and prawn stock.
There are the less expensive, generic brands and some which cost more for a carton than you'd pay at a restaurant for an entire meal. There are fat reduced stocks, sodium reduced stocks, white stocks, brown stocks, Bouillons, Remouillage… it's enough to make your head spin.
In India, however, all I've ever found are some very dodgy chicken stock cubes, with Arabic writing all over them, which, upon closer examination of the ingredient list, turn out little more than brown cubes of salt and MSG.
But that was before I discovered how fabulously easy it is to make my own stock. I did it once and I'm never going back to the terrible cubes. Here's why:
It just tastes so much better. I can honestly say that homemade stock tastes a million times better than any stock I have ever bought (including the really expensive ones) and adds real depth and flavour to every dish I use it in
It is very good for you. There's a reason why chicken soup is considered medicine and that is because the gelatine in homemade broth naturally contains calcium, minerals, and has other immune boosting properties.
It is the perfect combatant to waste. Chicken stock is made using those bits of the chicken that are usually thrown away. While I am not a vegetarian, I feel that we should treat the death of an animal with respect and part of that respect lies in utilising every part of that chicken as much as possible.
Here's a recipe that I use to make chicken stock. You can either buy the raw chicken carcasses from your neighbourhood chicken store (mine calls it junta chicken, meaning the necks and backs and it is very inexpensive) or you can wrap and store cooked chicken bones in your freezer as you go along, until you have enough to make your stock.
Recipe
Ingredients: 2 kilos of raw or cooked chicken bones, 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into two-inch pieces, 2 celery stalks, cut into two-inch pieces, leaves removed, a large onion, peeled and quartered, six cloves of garlic peeled, 1 tablespoon of black peppercorns, a small bunch parsley (with stems) washed, 1 teaspoon of salt, cold water to cover.
Method: Place all of the ingredients in a large pot. Fill the pot with cold water until it just covers the chicken. Over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Reduce the temperature to a simmer. Using a large spoon or ladle, skim off the foam as it appears at the top of your stock. Continue this until there is very little foam on top, about an hour. Continue to simmer the chicken stock for about three hours, until it develops a rich, chicken flavour.
Remove the pot from heat. Strain your stock and cool it down. As it cools, your stock may develop a layer of fat on the top. Leave this on until you are ready to first use the stock. This will protect it from exposure to the air. When ready to use, just spoon off the fat. Chicken stock will stay fresh for about a week if refrigerated.
It also freezes well. While freezing, transfer the stock to smaller containers, so you only have to defrost what you need. I usually freeze it in half a litre or two cup portions. And there you have it, your very own chicken stock, ready for use in soups, sauces, pilafs and more.