If you cannot find file powder, you can substitute by adding little more Okra.
Ingredients
non vegetarian 4 servings
1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds
1 tbsp salt
2 liters water
1 cup celery, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp dried leaf thyme
2 cups okra (bhindi), sliced and boiled 10 minutes
1 tbsp filé powder
5 cups hot cooked rice
Directions
Cut up the chicken and boil in salted water until tender.
Remove chicken from pot. Pour broth into another container; return 6 cups of broth to the pot.
If you don't have 6 cups of broth, add canned broth or bouillon.
Remove chicken from bone and cut into bite-sized pieces.
In a skillet, saute celery in butter; add the bay leaf, parsley, and thyme and cook for 2 minutes longer.
Add add celery mixture and okra to the chicken broth; simmer 10 minutes.
Add the chicken and heat through.
Just before serving, add the filé powder.
Serve on hot cook rice in soup plates. Serves 6 to 8.
Note: If you don't live in US, it might be tough to find filé powder (dried sassafras leaves powder) which primarily works like a thickening agent. Just increase the quantity of Okra which has enough thickening power of itself.