Chicken Soup with Shallot Seasoning

This recipe is a little improvisation of the traditional American chicken soup. In coastal Kerala the soup left over from boiling clams is usually served with a simple seasoning of shallots semi-fried in oil. In this recipe I just tried to make the chicken soup little less bland by doing the same and result was promising, which I want to share with you.

Ingredients
1.Any chicken parts - 2 lbs (I used organic drum-sticks with the skin on)
2.Celery - 5 stalks (cut in halves)
3.Carrots - 4 (each split in halves)
4.Onion (red) - 1 (cut in 4 pieces)
5.Shallots - 5
6.Butter - 1 tbs
7.Salt for taste
8.Black Pepper

Cook ingredients 1-4 in about 4 quarts of water and some salt in a soup pot. Bring it to boil and then let it simmer until the chicken is well cooked so that the meat would come off easily from the bones.

Strain the mixture and save the broth; skim off excessive fat and foam if there would be any.

Cut the veggies into small pieces. Remove meat from bones and cut into small pieces and discard the bones.

Melt butter in the soup pot and saute finely cut shallots until it will be slightly browned. Pour broth into it and let it get warm but not boil. Add more salt if needed and freshly ground black pepper for your taste. Add the cut veggies and chicken, adjust the taste if needed and serve.