Spicy Yemenite Soup

Yield: 8-10 servings

This is a great Yemenite twist to chicken soup. For low carbers, either pre-boil the carrot and potato or just leave them out.

• 1 chicken, skinned and cut into eighths
• 1 onion, peeled
• 2 small carrots, peeled
• 1 potato, peeled
• 2 kohlrabi, peeled
• 4 zucchini, peeled
• 4 celery stalks
• 11/2 cups pumpkin, peeled and cubed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4-1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup sugar-free tomato juice (optional)
• 1-2 teaspoons hawaij (Yemenite spice)
• salt to taste

Boil chicken in a 6-quart soup pot. Clean the fat from the soup. If you've poured off the water, refill pot halfway and bring poultry to a boil again. Add vegetables, cut into very large chunks, bay leaves, cilantro and the tomato juice (this will make soup darker than the original). Season with salt and hawaij. (The correct amount of hawaij will make your soup golden, but not too dark.) Simmer for about an hour, or until chicken is soft. Add salt to taste. Remove cilantro and bay leaves before serving.

Note:
Hawaij is a distinctive Yemenite spice. It is a combination of turmeric, black pepper, and cumin, with a small amount of cardamom. If you don't have it, you can use equal amounts of turmeric and cumin to one-fourth of the amount of black pepper, and just a pinch of ground cardamom.

Nutrition Facts: Serving size (cup) 11/2 (oz) 10 (g) 300 Calories 100 Protein (g) 19.5 Carbs (g) 5 Fat (g) 2 Sat. Fat (g) 0.7 Cholesterol (mg) 70 Sodium (mg) 247 Calcium (mg) 86 Fiber (g) 1 Exchanges: Starch/vegetable 1/2 Lean meat protein 2