Coconut Pollock & Butternut Chowder

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Serves:

6-8

Prep Time:

15 minutes

Cook Time:

40 minutes

Ingredients

4 Tbsp ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 small red onion, diced
1 cup fresh fennel bulb, sliced
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 cups potatoes, diced
1 lb wild pollock, cut into bite-size pieces
1 (12 oz) can full-fat coconut milk
2 quarts chicken feet broth (or rich chicken bone broth)
Fresh lemon juice, to taste
Fresh cilantro, chopped (generous!)

Buy Herbs & Spices @Banyan

Doshas Pacifies

Vata, Kapha

Best in:

Winter, Late-Winter, Early-Spring

Gunas:

Light, Grounding, Warm

Method

In a large soup pot, warm the ghee over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and fennel seeds and allow them to gently sizzle until fragrant.
Add the red onion and fresh fennel, sautéing until soft, translucent, and lightly sweet.
Stir in the butternut squash and potatoes, coating the vegetables in the spiced ghee.
Pour in the chicken feet broth, just enough to cover the vegetables. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender.
Stir in the coconut milk, creating a creamy, cohesive base.
Gently add the pollock, simmering just until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily. Avoid boiling.
Finish with fresh lemon juice to brighten and balance the richness.
Ladle into bowls and top generously with fresh cilantro.

Recipe Analysis from an Ayurvedic & Western perspective

This Coconut Pollock & Butternut Chowder is a beautiful example of comfort food that also functions as quiet medicine. From an Ayurvedic perspective, cumin and fennel stimulate digestion while reducing gas and heaviness, making this a chowder that supports agni rather than dulls it. Ghee and coconut milk add unctuousness and nourishment, supporting the nervous system and promoting satiety without relying on dairy.

Butternut squash and potatoes provide grounding carbohydrates that help steady blood sugar and calm Vata, while remaining easy to digest when well-cooked. Pollock, a mild and lean white fish, contributes high-quality protein and essential minerals without the heaviness of richer seafood. The use of chicken feet broth adds collagen, gelatin, and minerals, supporting gut integrity, joints, and connective tissue from a Western nutritional lens.

A final squeeze of lemon juice enhances digestive secretions and lifts the richness of the soup, while fresh cilantro offers a gentle detoxifying quality that keeps the chowder feeling clean and bright. The result is a deeply nourishing, seasonally appropriate bowl—comforting, balanced, and quietly restorative.