Smash the garlic and ginger lightly. Peel a yellow onion and cut into quarters.
Heat up the pot you’ll be making the soup in. Add the cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, peppercorns and coriander and heat for a minute or two, stirring, until you smell them. Remove the spices from the pot and put them aside. Add the smashed garlic and ginger, the quartered onion, lamb shanks and cover with water. The water should come about an inch above the meat. If you add too much water, the stock will be watery and not intense.
Cover and bring to a boil. Once it boils, skim the surface and remove the scum. Some people mix it in. I like to remove it so the stock will be clear and not cloudy. When you’ve finished removing the scum, add the toasted spices to the liquid, partially cover and simmer for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, the meat has given up most of it’s flavor but you can still use it. (I like to shred the meat. Sautee onions, garlic with a little salt, chili powder and add the shredded meat. Cook for a few minutes and serve it over rice or in a taco)
Strain the stock. Add 1 tsp apple cider vinegar and stir. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. The stock can be served right away with some scallions or if you want to make more of a meal, add vegetables and a little pasta or rice. Since there is a good amount of fat in the stock, it’s best to refrigerate overnight so you can remove the fat easily, then use it as soup.
The stock is gelatinous, gelatin is the cooked form of collagen. Collagen and cartilage in the stock help some people with joint pain and gut issues. This is like a quick version of bone broth. Bone broth takes at least 6 hours so technically this doesn’t qualify but you can see all the gelatin in the stock and this liquid is very nutritious.
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