Come winter; everyone craves soup! Be it the simple chicken broth called Yakhni, the famous Anglo Indian Mulligatawny Soup, or the ever-popular Indo Chinese Chicken Corn Soup, young and old alike seek the comforting warmth of a well-prepared bowl of soup.

Interestingly enough, Soup isn’t and has never been a part of traditional South Asian Cuisine. But somehow, we’ve grown to love the few that have been brought to us by immigrants and ex-pats. Today I’d like to present my two favourites.

Chicken Mulligatawny Soup

A fragrant Anglo Indian soup made with Chicken Stock, lentils, and rice and infused with curry powder involves several steps but is relatively easy to prepare.

INGREDIENTS

Rice For Garnish

• 4 tbsp basmati rice SEE NOTE
• 1 cup of water

Chicken For Garnish

• 1 chicken breast
• 2 whole garlic cloves
• ¼ inch ginger piece
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 cup of water

Mulligatawny Soup

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion
• 1 tsp crushed ginger
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 green chilli
• ½ cup split pigeon peas
• 4 tbsp basmati rice SEE NOTE
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 cups chicken broth (Recipe on Untoldrecipesbynosheen.com)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp curry powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 8 curry leaves
• ½ cup of coconut milk
• 1 lime

Untold Recipes by Nosheen Features Traditional Authentic Pakistani Food Recipes: Interview

INSTRUCTIONS

 Rice For Garnish

• rinse the rice three times
• boil on high heat with 1 cup of water till all of the water is absorbed (about 10-15 minutes)
• cover and set aside for later

Chicken For Garnish

• boil the chicken with all of the ingredients and the one cup of water till cooked through (about 20-30 minutes)
• remove the chicken from the water and shred it into pieces
• set aside for later

For Mulligatawny Soup

• heat the olive oil
• add the onions and saute till just translucent
• add the green chillies, ginger, and garlic for about 1 minute
  • add the chicken stock, pigeon peas, basmati rice, tomato paste,
• bay leaves, salt, coriander powder, curry powder, and turmeric and bring to a boil on high heat

• reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour
• remove the bay leaves at this point
• add the curry leaves and stir
• using an immersion blender or regular blender, puree the soup
• add the coconut milk and mix in
• at the time of serving, add a tbsp of rice and chicken as a garnish to each soup plate and serve with cut lime wedges

NOTES:

To avoid any confusion, the Basmati Rice is added to the soup separately at two different stages:

The first 4 tablespoons are cooked and used as a garnish for the soup when serving.

The other 4 tablespoons are added to the stock at the time of cooking. This helps thicken the soup as the starch in the rice is released.

For more details about the above recipes, head over to the untoldrecipesbynosheen.com.

About Nosheen: She graduated from Southeastern University and completed her high school at Karachi Grammar School. She later worked at Bank of America and ANZ Grindlays Bank. She has also served voluntarily for several boards, including Treasurer of an Elementary School Board, Second Vice President of an Elementary School Board, Treasurer of a Middle School Board, and On the board of a Non-Profit (O.S.E.F-Ocean Springs Education Foundation.

For more interesting recipes from Nosheen, watch this space.