We tried this recipe from Mimi Sheraton’s cookbook, The Whole World Loves Chicken Soup: Recipes and Lore to Comfort Body and Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/0446676497/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_yvBPAbMQA4ZT4
Ms. Sheraton adapted this recipe from Nagwa E. Khalil’s cookbook, Egyptian Cuisine. First, cut a 3.5 to 4 lb chicken into large pieces, trying to avoid cutting through bone (we cut into chicken quarters, breast/wing, and the remaining carcass). Place the chicken in a high walled Dutch oven and add enough water to just cover (not to exceed 9 cups) (we recommend using 10-12 cups – see Note below). Add the crushed seeds of 1 green cardamom or a pinch of ground cardamom (we increased to 1 crushed green cardamom and 1 tsp ground cardamom). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and then skim off scum as needed. Separately, preheat oven to 400. Gently remove the peel (including pith) from a whole lemon (about 4 strips of peel); reserve the lemon flesh for later use. Place on a foil-lined sheet and bake in oven until the edges curl and slightly brown (about 10 mins), and set aside. Third, prepare the other aromatics: rough-cut 4 stalks celery into 2-3 inch length pieces; wash and clean 4 sprigs each fresh parsley and fresh cilantro (we used about 8-10 sprigs fresh parsley only), and bruise and peel 6-8 garlic cloves. Fourth, add the lemon peel, celery, parsley, and garlic to the chicken pot. Simmer, partially covered for about 1 hour or until chicken meat is falling off the bones. Fifth, remove all solids from the chicken pot. Discard all of the aromatics and keep the chicken. Shred the chicken meat and discard the bones. Sixth, return the shredded chicken to the pot. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and add the juice of one lemon (we increased to 2 lemons, including the peeled one). Garnish with fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, or spearmint) and dehydrated fried shallots (available at most Thai or Indian groceries), and serve with cooked rice. (Mar. 2018)
Note: I normally am inclined to boil a whole chicken intact, but as Ms. Sheraton notes on pp. 17-18 of her book, you would need more than 9 cups of water to cover a whole chicken in a pot. By cutting it into pieces, you can place it more efficiently in a pot and cover with less water. However, at the end of cooking, we found that the 1 hour of stovetop cooking reduced the broth to only 4 cups, so we had to supplement with an additional 3 cups of unseasoned chicken broth. It was a little frustrating.
Cooking Adventures 