AFGHANI MEATBALL SOUP
Lightly spiced tomato based soup prepared with chicken mince, chick peas and kidney beansThis delicious soup was made by one of my friends, since then it has been my favourite. I had to share and give her credit for introducing this to me!
Equipment
- Knife
- Tin opener
- Chopping board
- mixing bowls
- Pot with a lid
- sieve
- Ladle
- soup ladle
- Pressure Cooker ( optional )
Ingredients
For soup
- 1 Can of tomatoes/400g (pulverised)
- 1 Can of chick peas/240g boiled chick peas
- 1 Can of red kidney beans/240g boiled kidney beans
- 200 g boiled egg noodles (use brown noodles for healthy option)
- ½ bunch chopped coriander leaves
- 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium sized onion (chopped)
- 1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
- ½ tsp crushed chilli flakes (add more if you want more spice)
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tsp crushed ginger
- ¼ tsp garam masala (optional)
For meat balls
- 500 g chicken mince
- 1 medium sized onion (chopped)
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
Instructions
Pre preparation
- Marinate the chicken mince with all the ingredients for meat balls.
- Boil the egg noodles according to packet instructions and set aside.
- If using dried chick peas and kidney beans, soak them for couple of hours and boil them. It will take about 40-45 mins approximately in the pressure cooker.
For soup
- In a pot, suate onions, garlic and ginger in olive oil.
- As soon as the onions change their colour add tomatoes and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the dry spices-chilli flakes, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt. Fry for few minutes until the tomatoes are softened and release water.
- When you see the oil starts to separate, prepare small balls of the mince and add to the pot one by one. Make sure the fried masala is not completely dry, if it is add little water and keep the flame low at this point. This is to avoid the balls from sticking to the pot.
- Give the pan a slight shake from time to time while adding balls to ensure they are not sticking to the bottom.
- After adding the balls, close the lid and continue cooking on medium heat.
- The mince will release water which will help to simmer cook. Let it cook for about 20 mins until the mince is completely cooked. You can always add little bit of water at any time if need be to prevent it from sticking. Do not cook on high flame.
- After the mince balls are cooked, add boiled chick peas and kidney beans, fry for few minutes to blend the flavour in the added beans.
- Now add 2 cups of water. Let it cook together so all the flavours blend in together, for about 10 – 15 minutes. Add noodles just in the last few minutes of cooking. This is to prevent them for being over cooked. Its best to keep the flame medium. Finally garnish with chopped coriander and garam masala (optional).
Notes
- If you don’t want to use tinned beans, it’s a good practise to boil and keep some chick peas, kidney beans or any other beans that you use in your cooking in the freezer as it’s time consuming to soak and boil them. They come in handy when making quick soups or salads.