Marag is the soup my grandmother remembered from Jewish Calcutta. In our family, we ate it over white Basmati rice, with a salad on the side. Its depth comes from hamising, the Judeo-Baghdadi word for frying down a paste of onion, garlic and ginger, worked in slow circles with a wooden spoon until it softens and turns golden.
Turmeric, ground cumin and ground coriander give this Indian version its color and warmth. The koobahs - rice dumplings filled with chicken - are optional, but traditional, tasty and important.
Ingredients
Servings 6
Spice paste
- 2 large onions coarsely chopped
- 4 to 5 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
Soup
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil canola, grapeseed or vegetable
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- Ground cumin 3 teaspoons or to taste
- Ground coriander 2 teaspoons or to taste
- 1 3 1/4-pound / 1.5 kg chicken, cut into 8 pieces
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- 2 cardamom pods
- 6 to 8 cups 1.5 to 2 liters water or light chicken stock
Vegetables
- 2 cups coarsely chopped ripe tomatoes or 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 2 medium Yukon Gold or red potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups peeled pumpkin such as butternut squash or kabocha, cut into 1-inch cubes (optional)
- Other vegetables such as carrots, green beans, cauliflower, zucchini, spinach or bok choy, cut into bite-size pieces (optional)
Dumplings
- 10 to 12 meat-filled rice koobahs fresh or frozen (optional)
To finish
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro fresh coriander
To serve
- Mounds of fluffy white Basmati rice
Nutritional Facts
Nutrition Facts
Marag: Jewish Indian Chicken Soup
Amount per Serving
Calories
134
% Daily Value*
Fat
5
g
8
%
Saturated Fat
0.4
g
3
%
Trans Fat
0.02
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
1
g
Monounsaturated Fat
3
g
Sodium
603
mg
26
%
Potassium
599
mg
17
%
Carbohydrates
21
g
7
%
Fiber
3
g
13
%
Sugar
4
g
4
%
Protein
3
g
6
%
Vitamin A
2975
IU
60
%
Vitamin C
27
mg
33
%
Calcium
43
mg
4
%
Iron
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Instructions
- Purée the onions, garlic and ginger in a blender or with a stick blender into a coarse paste, adding a spoonful of water only if the blades will not turn.
- Heat the oil in a 6-quart heavy pot over medium heat. Add the paste. Hamis the paste: fry it in slow circles with a wooden spoon until it softens, loses its raw edge and turns lightly golden and fragrant, 8 to 12 minutes, or longer if the paste is still wet. Do not rush it. This is where the soup gets its depth.
- Stir in the turmeric, cumin and ground coriander and cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds.
- Add the chicken and turn the pieces in the paste until coated, a few minutes, without letting them brown. Add the salt, pepper and cardamom.
- Add enough water to cover the chicken generously. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, skimming off any foam.
- Add the tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkin and any other vegetables. Simmer until the chicken and vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Add the koobahs, if using, and simmer gently until cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes. Keep the heat low so they do not break.
- Stir in the cilantro. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Cover and rest off the heat for 10 minutes.
- Serve over rice. The soup should taste warming and ginger-forward, golden with turmeric, warm with cumin and coriander, fresh with cilantro and quietly deep from the hamis.
Kooba Hamusta
<p>Make your own Kooba</p>
Reprinted with permission. Click here for full article.
