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Battle the chill with shorba

Nicely spicy, Indian soups are broth-like and light in consistency
Dhaba’s Zaffrani murgh shorba
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A picture jumped out at me from a friend’s wall on Facebook. It was a luscious image of a bowl of tomato soup. To battle the cold, the friend had prepared the soup at home, and was having it with two crispy puffs. The picture was so droolworthy that I had to call him up. What made it so special, he said, was that he had steamed some fresh, juicy tomatoes, taken off the skin, turned them into a paste, fried it with onion, garlic and ginger, cooked it with adequate water, and tempered it with black pepper. Add chicken stock to the broth, he suggests, if you are not a vegetarian: it improves the taste hugely.

I shall try this out, for the weather demands something warm — and soups are on top of my list. Though I enjoy western and Chinese soups (hot-and-sour is an all-time favourite), I have decided to focus on some typical Indian soups, such as shorbas, which are broth-like and light in consistency, and nicely spicy. Tamatar ka shorba, for instance, is flavoured with a host of spices — from bay leaves, cinnamon, cumin seeds and ginger and garlic paste to turmeric, chilli and coriander powders. Tamatar aur hara dhania shorba — cooked with tomatoes and fresh coriander leaves and roots — is particularly appetising. You can make shorba with all kinds of ingredients. Chef Ashwini Kumar, executive chef of Whisky Samba, mentions shorba prepared with pumpkin and saffron threads, lentil-based dal shorba, and hariyali shorba, cooked with greens.

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And like chicken soup for the soul, murgh shorba is excellent for the body and soul. As a young lad, I used to haunt Karim’s in Old Delhi for its chicken shorba. Chef Ravi Saxena, corporate chef of Azure, a brand that includes Dhaba, makes an excellent murgh-badam shorba, too.

Among the many Indian soups that I like are paya or kharorey ka soup. I remember in particular a gentleman who came with a cart and ladled out hot paya soup from a steaming cauldron in little mugs to customers lined up in front of him. It was the most delicious soup that I could have had on a cold winter’s day. Paya is made in different ways in different regions. In Punjab, for instance, it is often flavoured with onions and tomatoes, while many Hyderabadis cook their paya with curd, nuts and spices, chef Ashwani recalls. In some Lakhnavi quarters, saffron and other aromatic spices are added to the broth.

Then, there is thukpa, a delightful dish of noodles, veggies and meats in broth. Menu curator and chef Samta Gupta is especially fond of Darjeeling’s jhol momos — momos dunked in stock flavoured with turmeric, ginger and green coriander leaves. Her other favourite is Uttarakhand’s nimbu ki jholi — flavoured with Pahari lemons or galgal.

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I have tasted some delicious South Indian soups, thanks largely to our Tamil neighbours. They often send over delicious bowls of hot rasam, cooked with such surprising ingredients as boneless mutton. Another chef friend once shared the recipe of prawn rasam with me. He prepared some stock by sautéing onions, peppercorns and prawn shells. He added water to this, and let it simmer for an hour or so. Straining the liquid, he brought it to a boil again. Tomatoes, tomato paste, rasam powder and salt were added. He then let it simmer some more after adding pieces of prawns to the broth. Then, he tempered it with curry leaves and red chillies.

One local soup that I am yet to try is raab. For this, says chef Ashwini, take 250gm bajra or makai dalia. Boil water in a pan, and add the dalia to it. Let it simmer till it thickens a bit. Add 1½ litres of chhaas or buttermilk, and remember to stir it in one direction (else it may curdle). Add crushed cumin seeds and salt and continue cooking till it reaches a soupy consistency — not too thin or too thick, just perfectly balanced.

Clearly, there is a lot to be said for Indian soups. One day soon, I shall wrap myself in a blanket, hold a warm cup of raabi soup, and say pooh to winter.

Dhaba’s Zaffrani murgh shorba

Ingredients (Serves 4)

Chicken bones                              750 gm

Onion (sliced)                               1 large

Garlic paste                                    1 tsp

Ginger paste                                   1 tsp

Bay leaf                                            1

Mace                                                 1 small piece

Saffron                                             A few threads

Potato (grated)                                1 small

Salt                                                     To taste

Refined oil                                        As needed

Garam masala                                  A pinch

Lemon juice                                      1 tsp

Water                                                 7-8 cups

Almonds                                            1 tbsp

Cardamoms (large)                         2

White pepper powder                     1/2 tsp

Chicken thigh pieces (boiled)       80 gm

Method

Blanch the bones and drain the water. Take a thick-bottomed pateela, add oil, whole spices, ginger-garlic paste, sliced onions and sauté. Add the blanched bones and grated potato. Top it with water and simmer. Reduce the water to half. When thick, discard the bones and add saffron and pepper. Adjust the seasoning. Add chopped and boiled boneless chicken pieces, garam masala and lemon juice. Serve hot, sprinkled with slivered almonds.

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