Soup stories

Sangeeta Sen goes on a delicious and sumptuous trail of soups that have warmed the heart and hearth

Un pot au feu doux, rather a steaming pot of soup on a gentle fire, sings of a prelude to the goodness to come, said famous master chef Louis P De Guoy. He was indeed right. In fact, since ancient times, dating back to the period of glorious empires across India, a slow-cooked soup of braised meats, fresh vegetables, root vegetables or lentils, flavoured with fresh herbs and spices, has been the perfect choice for promoting good health in different regions of India.

Interestingly, that morning, it was a case of rewinding back to this age-old ‘soup-culture’, when I watched an elderly Kashmiri lady, my next-door-neighbour, stirring in the thick, syrupy deep red pomegranate molasses and the chicken stock into the mixture of coarsely chopped
spinach and chickpeas, sautéed with ginger, cumin and red chillies; then, gently simmering the whole liquid mixture in the large degh cooking pan placed over a slow-fire.

Later, as she ladled this hot soup into my bowl, garnished it with few pomegranate seeds, the Kashmiri lady, well-conversant with Mughal-preferred shorbas and their cooking styles, went back to times past and explained, “This is Anar Shorba. For the Mughal emperors in the 15th century, this flavourful shorba, savoured with crispy Girda flatbreads, was a healthy breakfast choice. For re-creating the magic of this Anar Shorba, I usually prefer the traditional Mughal technique of slow-cooking this shorba in the degh. In fact, the lengthy degh slow-cooking process not only brings out the sweet pomegranate flavour and the earthy, warm flavours of the spices, but, it definitely packs this shorba with a medley of health benefits.”

In fact, considering the health merits, the hot shorba broth, thickened with Vitamin C-rich pomegranate molasses, boosts the immunity levels while compounds like raffinose in fibre-rich chickpeas improves intestinal health. Then, the iron-enhanced spinach leaves help create more haemoglobin and, moreover, fight symptoms of anaemia. Additionally, the degh slow-cooking process has been known to step up the release of digestion-aiding enzymes from ginger and cumin.

It’s not just the Anar Shorba. There are also other varieties of slow-cooked wholesome soups, with varying tastes and flavours, that were popular. In fact, in my attempts of knowing more about soups popular during the time of ruling empires across India, I travelled back to the time when officers and troops of the elite Bengal European Cavalry Regiment sat down to plates of buttered rice and the ‘crock-pot’ slow-cooked coconut-creamed Mulligatawny soup of chicken, masur dal (red lentils), potatoes, carrots, celery and apples, profoundly-scented with pepper and curry spices at the Bengal Club during the time of the British Raj era at Kolkata, way back in the 18th century.

Interestingly enough, commenting on the technique of slow-cooking in the covered ‘crock-pot’ (traditional British ceramic slow-cooker), for a flavourful Mulligatawny soup, a Kolkata-based home-maker who takes an interest in traditional cooking styles, explained: “When it comes to making a flavourful Mulligatawny, I adhere to the British Raj era tradition of sautéing the mixture of cooked chicken cubes, masur dal, chopped vegetables and apple slices, with the British-preferred ground curry spice mix of turmeric, cumin, coriander, black peppercorns, cinnamon and cloves, followed by stirring in the stock, coconut milk, simmering this liquid mixture in the sealed cast-iron soup-pot (instead of the British ceramic ‘crock-pot’ slow-cooker) over a slow-fire. This slow-cooking technique is quite important for bringing out the peppery, earthy and sweet flavours which, ultimately, end up lending an authentic British-Indian touch to the Mulligatawny soup.”

“Today, we still take pride in carrying on with the British Raj era tradition of savouring a hot bowl of the Mulligatawny soup with a plate of buttered rice or even cardamom-flavoured rice,” she added.

Health-wise, during the time of the British Raj at Kolkata, the slow-cooked Mulligatawny soup was a nutritious soup packed with antioxidants like polyphenols that have been known to reduce the risk of coronary heart diseases while more of antioxidants like carotenoids in crisp red bell pepper slices and lutein in earthy-flavoured carrot cubes, help maintain proper eye health.

Furthermore, the slow-cooking technique has been known to intensify the antioxidant properties of curry spice ingredients — for instance, the increased levels of the pipeline antioxidant in black pepper help fight cold symptoms while anti-bacterial properties of the curcumin antioxidant in turmeric have been known to alleviate symptoms of bacterial diseases. Also, increased amounts of compounds like monolaurin in coconut milk help ward off
viral illnesses.

Caldo Verde soup

Then, speaking of a bowl of soup with Provençale French flavours like the garlic soup, rather the classic Aïgo Bouido soup, I recalled that fascinating moment of last June when the chef at a heritage Puducherry cuisine restaurant in Delhi simmered gently the mixture of oven-roasted garlic cloves and bouquet des herbes, rather the Provençale herbs’ combination of parsley, thyme and long-stemmed bay leaves, in the traditional French cast-iron marmite soup pot, partially covered, over a slow-fire — it was, in fact, a cooking style that was in conformity with the traditional Provençale technique of making the Aïgo Bouido soup
during the time of the French East India Company at Puducherry in the 16th century.

According to the chef, “For any French era cuisine, rich in Provençale flavours, I prefer honouring the cuisine’s traditional cooking techniques. The slow-simmering of a French era cuisine like the Aïgo Bouido soup in the partially covered marmite soup pot, over a gentle flame, truly brings out the quintessential Provençale flavours preferred by the French settled at Puducherry — mainly the mellow scent of roasted garlic and, of course, the floral flavours of fresh parsley and thyme herbs as well as bay leaves’ floral flavours. Above all, a hot bowl of the Aïgo Bouido soup along with garlic baguettes certainly keeps up the Provençal French traditions.”

Additionally, for the French at Puducherry, the Aïgo Bouido soup was a healing soup. In fact, validating these observations, scientific research studies have shown that the allicin antioxidant in garlic helps boost immunity levels, while herbs like fresh parsley and thyme, as well as bay leaves, have powerful anti-viral properties.

Next, as I scrolled down through the pages of historical texts, I came across the fascinating Caldo Verde, rather a thick, creamy green soup, flavoured with the Portuguese Piri Piri red chilli pepper flakes and garlic — which was popular during the time of the Portuguese era in Goa in the 15th century.

Interestingly, for the classic Caldo Verde soup, as per traditional techniques followed during the time of the Portuguese at Goa, first, the mixture of thin strips of cabbage and spinach leaves as well as coarsely mashed potatoes, is sautéed with the traditional Portuguese Piri Piri red chilli pepper flakes and alho (garlic), in the cataplana (traditional Portuguese clam-shaped copper cooking pan) placed over a low flame, then, the stock is stirred in followed by covering the cataplana and ultimately, slow-cooking the whole mixture over a gentle flame.

Furthermore, as per Portuguese era traditions, the Caldo Verde soup is usually served with the pão de milho cornbread. The cataplana slow-cooking not only makes the Caldo Verde rich with Portuguese flavours but, it also imparts a healthy touch to the soup.

In fact, the slow-cooked cabbage and spinach strips have higher levels of heart-friendly antioxidants like anthocyanins, while high levels of flavonoid antioxidants in mashed potatoes help reduce the risk of chronic illnesses.