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| Vegetable soup with chicken. |
Nothing like a pot of hot soup in the Goa rains. There's this urge to have a certain type of nourishment at a certain time. Considering it was the weekend, I decided to have a go at making it myself.
Now I do not always make such rash decisions, but it was a Saturday - and the moment called for something out of the ordinary. So far I had stuck to making omelettes, bhurjis and bhajis. Surely I deserved better?
The video I saw made it look so easy. Actually I was drawn to the delicate crockery in which the Goan soup had been served and the accompanying twangs of guitar music reminiscent of 'Hotel California.'
There was great joy in making the soup. Dwayne (10) was elated stirring the pot. He loved inhaling the steam as it rose. Helping in making the soup also helped to shed some of his disdain for veggies.
I was thrilled when Queenie and Dwayne relished the soup. It was a one pot dish and dinner was dispensed with. I took half and hour to cut the veggies and it took another 30 mins. to cook. I began at 9 p.m. and soup was served at 10. There were other things that called for my attention but I put them on the back burner. This was my weekend time to bond with the family.
The music on Delhi FM relayed by Goa had just meandered from Western music to ghazals. Over the deepening night wafted the soft silky voice of Ghulam Ali 'Hum Tere Shahar Mein Aaye Hain Musafir ki Tarah' [I have come to your city as a traveller].
The soup was easy to make. Here's how it went.
To Serve: 3 (2 helpings)
INGREDIENTS
Water (5cups)
Milk (half a cup)
Olive oil (a spoon)
Carrots
Peas
Cauliflower (flowerets)
Onions
Tomatoes
Chicken pieces (4 small)
Salt to taste
Pepper (a pinch)
Maggie chicken cubes (2)
Macaroni
Butter (for flavour)
METHOD
Place the chicken bits in a vessel of salt water and allow them to thaw. Put olive oil in a flat-bottomed vessel. Put the onions and saute them. Add the peas, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and diced beans. You could also use pre-cooked frozen veggies from the Safal packet. Add the chicken cubes and the macaroni. Add the water. Keep stirring. Remove the chicken pieces from the salt water and add them to the soup.
As it burbled to a boil, I was thinking of the Portuguese fable titled 'Sopa de Pedra' [Stone soup] of how a hungry man goes to a house whose owner is unwilling to share any food. So the man says he will make a soup. All he needs is a stone. The miser obliges. But then the man asks for each of the ingredients one by one. Finally a delicious soup is made which both enjoy.
Keep tasting the broth. Add milk for texture and butter for taste. Queenie says one can also break an egg into the pot while stirring. This will give slivers of egg to lace the soup. Make it on a lazy evening for those you love. The goodness will last a long time.
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Pix taken by Brian Mendonca on 12 June 2021 and customized by Dwayne Mendonca. Base recipe by Lidds Cozinha.
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