A gut-healing, joint-lubricating, soul-nourishing glittering golden elixir!
Homo sapiens were originally hunters and gatherers and wasting any part of the hunt was unthinkable. While the meat was consumed and preserved, skin converted to fur and leather, fine and sharp bones used for weapons and needles, the hooves, knuckles and long hard bones we cooked on fire to release their oils and juices, which have been consumed for thousands of years. Come the invention of the pot and bones and hooves are added to water along with root vegetables, herbs and spices to make a hearty broth.
In every culture across the globe one can find a dish which has a bone broth at its essence - the "bru" in Germany, "seolleongtang" in Korea, "tonkatsu" in Japan, "kholodetz" in Russia, "shorba" in Persia to "gao tang" in China, every culture has their own version of bone broth which has been used for centuries to heal digestive ailments, cold and cough, bone and joint issues and provide overall vitality, to name a few.
It's only recently that the world of nutrition is seeing a come back of this ancient food and recognising its benefits towards holistic healing. To give you an idea, one cup of bone broth has just 40-50 kcal while boasting of about 10gm of proteins. It is packed with calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, selenium, manganese, vitamin A, vitamin K2 and Omega-3s & Omega-6s. Additionally, what makes it great for our joints are glucosamine and chondroitin, extracted from connective tissues, which are often given as supplements to people suffering from arthritis and joint pains.
It goes without saying that bone broth, being rich in glycine, is simply magnificent for a radiant skin.
Here's my favourite version of a simple bone broth recipe, that makes for 2 people -
Ingredients
Soup bones (lamb/ mutton/ beef/ chicken) - 500gm
Apple cider vinegar : 1 tbsp (absolutely essential to draw out all the goodness from the bones)
Ginger & Garlic (crushed) : 1 tbsp
Onion : 1 large
Whole peppercorns & cloves : 5-8 each
Bay leaf : 1 large
Star-anise : 1 piece
Cardamom : 3-4 pieces
Water : 1 litre
Himalayan Pink Salt : to taste
Mushrooms : half a cup, finely chopped
Coriander : a handful, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper : to taste
Recipe
First, to make the broth, put all the ingredients in a pressure cooker except for mushrooms, coriander, and ground black pepper.
Pressure cook it for about 20-30 minutes on a low flame. Turn of the heat and let it cool for another 20-30 minutes.
Once cooled down, strain the broth in a saucepan and start simmering it.
Add in chopped mushrooms, chopped coriander and freshly ground black pepper.
Simmer for 4-5 minutes and enjoy have it nice and hot.
Viola!
Use the broth base to make clear soups by adding any vegetable of your choice like carrots, broccoli, beans, zucchini etc.
Comments