ADVERTISEMENT

Slurp slurp soups! Four protein-ilicious recipes to drool over

Goodness of pork, succulent mutton, tender chicken, and seafood musts — recipes that make soup from bland to grand in a moment

Pooja Mitra Published 15.07.22, 02:21 PM
Piping hot soup and ‘brishti’ — a love story in itself

Piping hot soup and ‘brishti’ — a love story in itself Shutterstock

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:

ADVERTISEMENT

Mixed meat soup

Shutterstock

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

Shutterstock

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

Shutterstock

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

Shutterstock

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.
Follow us on:
ADVERTISEMENT