Traditional Shorba Recipes

SHORBA RECIPE

Steps:

• In a grinder or blender, take the following ingredients - 1 cup roughly chopped tomatoes, 1/3 cup chopped onion, 1 tsp chopped green chili, 1 tsp roughly chopped ginger, 1 tsp chopped garlic, 2 tbsp grated fresh or desiccated coconut and 1 tbsp chopped mint or chopped coriander or half-half of both.
• Grind without adding any water to a smooth paste. If unable to grind to a smooth paste, then add 1 to 1.5 tbsp water.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Add the whole spices - 1 tejpatta, 1 black cardamom, 2 to 3 green cardamoms, 1 inch cinnamon, 3 to 4 cloves, 2 to 3 all spice/kababchini (optional), 1 or 2 single mace strands & 4 to 5 black pepper.
• If you want you can even skip the black cardamom. Though adding black cardamom does give its flavor to the curry.
• Saute till the spices become aromatic.
• Now add the ground tomato-onion paste. Be careful as the mixture splutters. Stir very well.
• Then add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp red chili powder (reduce to 1/4 tsp for a less spiced gravy), 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala powder and 1 tsp coriander powder.
• Stir the spice powders with the rest of the masala paste.
• Stir and saute the masala till you see oil releasing from the sides of the paste. The mixture will also gather together and leave the sides of the pan.
• Then add 1 to 1.25 cups vegetable stock. Its preferable to add veg stock. If you do not have veg stock, then add water. If making for veg biryani, you can also parboil/boil the veggies that will be added to the biryani and then add this vegetable stock to the gravy.
• Stir very well and season with salt.
• Again stir and bring the curry to a simmer on a low to medium flame for 5 to 6 minutes or till you see specks of oil on top.
• Garnish with chopped coriander or mint leaves. Serve shorba with vegetable biryani or vegetable pulao.

TRADITIONAL SHORBA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook chicken in boiling water, skimming any fat, until partially cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Stir tomato puree, whole onion, bay leaves, cardamom pods, mistika, salt, and pepper into the pot. Cook until chicken is cooked through and tender, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

SHORBA LIBYA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and fry the onions for a few minutes until tender. Add the lamb, chickpeas, tomato puree, spices and salt, and cook for a few minutes more, stirring occasionally.
• Cover the mixture with water, stir, then simmer with the lid on for 30-45 minutes or until the lamb is cooked. Add extra water if required and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
• Stir in the crushed mint about 10 minutes before the end, then squeeze in the lemon-juice just before serving. Serves 4-6.

TOMATO SHORBA RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, roast the spices (peppercorns, coriander seeds , cumin , cinnamon sticks , cloves , cardamom pods) in oil until slightly golden brown and aromatic .
• To the saucepan, add ginger and garlic until the raw smell goes off for 3-4 min on medium heat. To this, add onions and carrots. Saute until onions turn translucent.
• Add tomatoes and coriander / cilantro stems. Mix them well. Then, add 1.5 cups water - simmer the mixture until tomatoes are completely cooked and mushy- about 10 minutes on medium flame.
• Add the remaining 2.5 cups of water and let simmer for 10 more minutes. Then, let the mixture cool. Once cooled, grind mixture into a fine paste and pass through a sieve to collect the liquid, which is the soup.
• Boil the soup until hot.
• Serve hot with garlic bread.