Paya Soup is the lamb trotters’ soup cooked with Indian
spices in Indian style, a delicacy that every non-vegetarian household would
love to taste once a while. It holds not
only a high place in soup family but also the tastiest and healthiest among all
soups. Whether it is growing children or
new mothers, recuperating patients or undernourished ones, this amazing soup
works like magic! Though traditionally
this yummy and nutritious soup is cooked overnight on slow flame, I am giving a
quick recipe here for easy cooking that gives the same great taste. Let us start, bon appétit!
Ingredients - group 1
1. Paya OR lamb trotters:
4 Nos (cleaned and cut, bone in)
2. Water: 6 cups
3. Onion (medium size,
chopped): 3 - 4 Nos.
4. Tomato (medium size chopped):
2 Nos.
5. Green chilies (slit):
2 Nos.
6. Ginger-garlic paste: 1
½ Tablespoons
7. Turmeric powder: ¼ Tablespoon
8. Salt: to taste
Ingredients - group 2
1. Pepper powder: 1 Tablespoon
2. Cumin powder: ½
Tablespoon
3. Coriander leaves
(cilantro): 2 tablespoon (finely
chopped)
Ingredients - group 3 (Optional, for tempering)
1. Onion (small size
finely chopped lengthwise): 1 No.
2. Desi ghee/clarified
butter: 2 Tablespoon
Ingredients - group 4
1. Coriander leaves
(coarsely chopped): 2 Tablespoonful for garnishing.
Step by step method for easy cooking:
Step 1:
In a pressure-cooker add paya, water, onion, tomato, green
chilies, ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, salt (all ingredients listed
under group 1) then cover the lid. Cook until
the trotters/paya is very well done. It
might take 8 to 10 whistles or a couple more if paya is not tender. At this stage the meat should literally fall
off the bone, that is when you know paya is done.
Step 2:
Once the pressure from the cooker is released, now open the lid slowly
and add pepper powder, cumin powder and chopped cilantro (ingredients listed
under group 2), then mix once and cook further for 3 - 4 minutes.
Step 3:
Take a tempering pan and heat desi ghee/clarified butter. Once ghee is hot add finely sliced onion (ingredients listed under group 3) and
fry it on medium heat till the onion turns to nice brown color. Now, immediately pour the tempering into the soup,
cover it at once and leave it covered for 2 more minutes.
Step 4:
Transfer the soup to a serving bowl or ideally use a porcelain soup
bowl, garnish with chopped coriander leaves (ingredient mentioned in group 4). The yummy yummy quick
soup is ready to serve! Serve it with
bread slices, any Indian roti, dosa or idly!
1. Lamb trotters (lamb legs, or even goat legs) are usually burnt
and partly cleaned before being sold.
Sometimes it is available skin removed, hence easy to clean. But always the burnt ones are better, also
adds to taste and brings intense flavor.
2. If you happen to bring pre-burnt trotters make sure that you
have cleaned even the smallest hair strands.
In my place, they remove skin and cut into pieces before they sell.
3. Use freshly ground pepper and cumin powder for robust aroma.
4. You can also add salt at step 2 instead of adding at step 1,
because it sometimes speeds up cooking process.
5. Avoid the use of Ghee Tadka (tempering) when serving to those
who are advised not to consume ghee.
