Sipping on warm soup as it drizzles outside — there can’t be a better (and healthier) way to celebrate the monsoon. Before you frown at ‘soup,’ FYI, these bowls are full of all things meat — succulent pork, pathar mangsho, comforting chicken, every Bengali’s go-to maach with some mushrooms thrown in.
Scroll down to save, make and repeat these yummy soupy wonders that can be batch cooked to re-heat and slurp on those why-is-the-clock-on-a-marathon weekdays:
Mixed meat soup
This is the perfect put-everything-together-and-whistle soup. And by everything we mean, everything. A brothy richness with a creamy aftertaste, this under-40-minutes meaty-nutty-coconuty power soup is a filling one-pot meal that busts the ‘soup is bland’ myth right away.
Ingredients
Chicken thigh (boneless, finely chopped): 200 grams
Mutton keema: 100 grams
Pork (60:40 meat-fat ratio, boneless, finely chopped: 150 grams
Prawns (deveined): 100 grams
Button mushrooms (finely sliced): 7-8
Eggs (2-3)
Green chilli-ginger-lemon juice paste: 3-4 tablespoons
Garlic (chopped): 2 tablespoons
Tomatoes (medium dices): 2, large
Onions (medium dices): 2, large
Green chillies (slit): 3-4
Black pepper corn (whole): 1 teaspoon
Black pepper (crushed): 1 tablespoon
Salt
Sugar
Butter (melted)
Vegetable oil (optional)
200gm
Coconut milk: 200ml
4-5 tablespoon finely chopped
Coconut (finely chopped): 4-5 table spoons
Peanuts: 3-4 tablespoons (optional)
Coriander leaves (finely chopped)
Lime juice
Recipe
- Assemble chicken, mutton keema and pork in a bowl and marinate with one tablespoon green chilli-garlic paste, lime juice, salt and black pepper powder. Set aside for at least 15 minutes.
- In a frying pan, dry roast the peanuts and saute the chopped coconut in vegetable oil. Keep them aside. This is an optional step, you can do without these two ingredients in the soup but adding them lends a nutty and coconutty aftertaste to the broth.
- In a pressure cooker, add a dollop of melted butter and heat. Maintain low to medium flame while making the spice base. Add whole black pepper corns and saute for a minute. Next goes the chopped garlic, fry till golden brown. Add the remaining green chilli-ginger-lime juice paste, slit green chillies and cook till the paste is golden brown. Add the diced onions and saute till golden, followed by the tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes for a minute.
- Add the marinated meat and give a good stir. Add salt and crushed black pepper. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes. Remember not to tightly cover.
- Add water, give a good stir and check seasoning. Add sugar to taste. Cook at low to medium flame for 4-5 whistles.
- Re-check seasoning. Stir everything again so that the meat is all broth-like in texture. Add coconut milk, prawns and mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes, uncovered. Add the coconut and peanuts and cook for another minute or two
- Beat the eggs well and pour into the soup while the flame is on medium. Stir slowly for egg drop. Cook for another 3-4 minutes to make sure there is no eggy smell.
- Turn off the flame, add chopped coriander leaves, lime juice and black pepper powder. Serve piping hot.
Chicken broth soup
Light, tasty and ready in under 20 minutes, this soup has the goodness of greens and melt-in-the-mouth chicken, with a dollop of butter. Healthy, tasty and the perfect go-to soup from monsoon to winter. Batch cook, eat, repeat.
Ingredients
Chicken (boneless thigh pieces, cut into fine strips): 500 grams
Garlic cloves: 6-7
Ginger (julienne): 1 tablespoon
Garlic-green chilli paste: 2 tablespoons
Black pepper (whole): 1 teaspoon
Carrots (chopped): 1 small cup
Beans (chopped): 1 small cup
Lemongrass (finely chopped)
Green chillies (finely chopped): 1 tablespoon
Chilli flakes: 1 teaspoon
Cloves: 2
Bay leaf: 1
Coriander leaves (finely chopped)
Salt
Sugar
Black pepper (crushed)
Vegetable oil
Lemon juice
Recipe
- In a pressure cooker, add vegetable oil and butter (70:30 ratio) and heat. Add bay leaf, cloves, whole black pepper and temper. Add garlic pods, ginger-green chilli paste and saute.
- Add ginger and saute for a couple of minutes. Add chicken strips.
- Add salt, sugar, lemon juice, chilli flakes and cook for 5-7 minutes on medium flame — uncovered for the first two minutes and covered for the rest of the time.
- Add the chopped vegetables (leave out lemongrass) and green chillies and stir well. Cook for 5 minutes and add water as needed.
- Pressure cook for 1 and ½ whistles, check seasoning, add coriander leaves, lime juice, and crushed black pepper.
- Garnish with lemongrass and serve with some melted butter on top.
Pork soup
A light, succulent hog-it-up wonder that’s perfect for brunch, snack or dinner. An under 40-minute #SoulSoup that can be made with any meat of your choice.
Ingredients
Pork (70:30 meat-fat ratio, cut into medium dices or thin slices): 500 grams
Bay leaf: 1
Cloves: 2
Cardamom: 2
Dried red chilli: 1
Garlic (chopped): 1 tablespoon
Ginger (chopped): 1 tablespoon
Green chillies (chopped): 1 tablespoon
Carrots (medium dices): 2
Potatoes (medium dices): 2
Tomatoes (medium dices): 2
Onions (medium dices): 2, large
Beans (cut into medium size): 1 cup
Cauliflower (cut into medium flowers): 1
Green chillies (slit): 2
Salt
Sugar
Lime juice
Black pepper powder
Butter
Vegetable oil
Recipe
- Marinate pork in lime juice, salt and black pepper powder, and leave aside for at least 15 minutes.
- In a pressure cooker, add vegetable oil and butter (80:20 ratio) and heat. Add bay leaf, cloves, cardamom and dry red chilli, saute till aromatic.
- Add ginger, garlic, chopped green chillies and cook till golden brown.
- Add marinated pork and saute under lid on a low to medium flame for 10-12 minutes.
- Once the pork is slightly fried and has begun to change colour, add the vegetables and stir fry for another five minutes.
- Add desired amount of water, salt, sugar, black pepper powder, lime juice, slit green chillies and cook till two full whistles. Check if the meat is cooked.
- When done, season and serve smoking hot
Fish soup
Where there is Bangali, there is fish. So why not a maachher soup? Boneless bekti, prawns and coconut milk — this soup is healthy and yummy.
Ingredients
Prawns (deveined): 200 grams
Bekti (boneless, cut into cubes): 200 grams
Onion (finely diced): 1, large
3-4 garlic cloves finely chopped
Ginger (finely chopped): 1 tablespoon
Freen chillies (finely sliced): 4
Tomato (small dices): 1, large
Coconut milk: 200ml
Vegetable oil
Fish sauce (optional)
Salt
Sugar
Lime juice
Cornstarch mix: 1 small cup
Kaffir lime leaves: 2-3
Black pepper powder
Mango ginger (grated): 1 teaspoon
Bay leaf: 1
Star anise: 1
Cloves: 2
Cardamom pods: 3
Cinnamon stick: 1
Vegetable oil
Recipe
- Marinate bekti with fish sauce, salt, lime juice and black pepper powder and keep aside for 10 minutes. Marinate prawns with same spice base and keep aside for 10 minutes too.
- In a wok, add vegetable oil, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamoms, cloves and star anise and temper well.
- Add chopped garlic, ginger and onion one by one and saute each till golden brown.
- Add tomatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the fish pieces and prawns and gently stir to mix the masala and saute on low to medium flame for 3-4 minutes.
- Add coconut milk, salt, sugar, black pepper powder, slit green chillies and mango ginger and cover cook for 15-20 minutes on medium flame.
- Check seasoning, add lime leaves, cornstarch and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Serve piping hot.
