Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Shorba Marag
Shorba Marag (Spicy Kid Soup)

Shorba Marag

Spicy Kid Soup
Non-vegetarian●●●Origin Jammu and KashmirPrep 20 minutesCook 1¾–2¼ hours

A comforting, fragrant lamb broth laced with green chillies, aromatic fresh herbs, and sweet browned onions.

Soup seasoning

1.1 gStirred into the cooked lamb broth alongside the fresh herbs (step 2)
01
Ground black pepper · Kali Mirch Powder
1.1 g½ teaspoon
spice
Keep ready to add to the simmering broth.

Everything else

01
Lamb · Goshtcut into 1-cm / ½-inch cubes
500 g
meat
02
Green chilli · Hari Mirchde-seeded and chopped
12 g2 chillies
vegetable
03
Coriander leaf · Hara Dhaniachopped
~50 g½ bunch
herb
04
Mint · Pudinachopped
~50 g½ bunch
herb
05
Ghee
4.4 g1 teaspoon
oil/fat
06
Onion · Pyazthinly sliced
150 g1 onion
vegetable
07
Salt · Namak
to taste
salt
08
Lime juice · Nimbu Ka Rasto serve
to taste
souring agent

Method

  1. Place 500 g lamb in a pressure cooker with salt to taste and 2 litres of water. Cook under pressure for 40 minutes until the meat is tender (or simmer in a large, heavy pot with 4 litres of water for 1 to 1½ hours).
  2. Open the cooker and stir in the soup seasoning, 12 g green chilli, 50 g coriander leaf, and 50 g mint into the broth, which should measure around 1.5 litres.
  3. Warm 4.4 g ghee in a frying pan over medium heat. Add 150 g onion and fry for roughly 4 minutes until lightly browned.
  4. Transfer the fried onions and ghee into the soup and simmer gently over low heat for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve hot with lime juice to taste.

Don't have something?

Lamb
  • Pork

    Use equal weight of pork shoulder or collar; cut into identical cubes and braise, reducing cooking time by 15-20 minutes.

  • Chicken

    Use equal weight of bone-in chicken thighs; curry simmers in roughly 25 minutes instead of over an hour, with a much lighter sauce.

Ground black pepper
  • Black peppercorn

    Use 1:1 by weight; pulverise in a spice mill or mortar to a fine powder for immediate, punchy heat.

  • Coarsely ground black pepper

    Use equal weight; offers the same bite, though it gives a visibly speckled finish and firmer crunch.

Green chilli
  • Chilli powder

    Use 10 to 15% of the weight (about 1/4 teaspoon per chilli); imparts dry pungent heat and reddens the dish without the grassy crunch.

  • Dried red chilli

    Use 1 dried pod per fresh green chilli; snap in half and temper in hot oil for a deeper, toastier heat.

Coriander leaf
  • Coriander

    Use equal weight finely chopped; this is the exact same fresh herb.

  • Mint

    Use half the weight finely chopped; provides vibrant green freshness, though the flavour profile becomes noticeably cooler and sharper.

Mint
  • Dried mint

    Use about 30% of the weight of fresh mint. Rub between your palms to crush before stirring in; the flavour will be more intensely herbal and less bright.

  • Coriander leaf

    Use equal weight, finely chopped. Adds fresh citrusy green notes, but lacks the cooling menthol lift.

Ghee
  • Unsalted butter

    Use 120% of the weight; melt gently over low heat to avoid burning the milk solids, which will yield a softer, creamier richness rather than a nutty aroma.

  • Vegetable oil

    Use 85% of the weight; holds high cooking temperatures without smoking, but the final dish will lack traditional dairy depth.

  • Mustard oil

    Use equal weight; heat to smoking point and cool slightly before cooking, bearing in mind it introduces an assertive, pungent edge.

Onion
  • Shallot

    Use equal weight, finely sliced. Shallots soften and brown faster, giving a slightly sweeter and more delicate base to curries.

  • Cabbage

    Use 80% of the weight, finely shredded and browned slowly with a pinch of asafoetida. Replicates the bulk and natural sweetness in gravies without allium.

Lime juice
  • Lemon juice

    Use equal volume or weight; slightly sweeter and less pungent, but otherwise an imperceptible swap.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 25% of the weight; imparts dry, fruity sourness, best stirred in right at the end of cooking.

  • Tamarind extract

    Use 50% of the weight; delivers pleasant fruity tang but turns pale sauces considerably darker.

Similar dishes

Aso Adin
Lamb Stew with Ginger
It delivers a sharper, ginger-driven heat without the herbal aroma, savoury onion sweetness, or citrus tang of this dish.
  • Same: Aso Adin also simmers lamb into a light broth spiced with fresh green chillies.
  • Different: It adds ginger paste but omits the ghee, browned onions, black pepper, fresh herbs, and lime juice found in this dish.
Dahi ka Dungara Gosht
Smoked Lamb Cooked with Yoghurt
It tastes rich, tangy and smoky from the yoghurt and charcoal, whereas this dish is a light, chilli-hot, lime-soured herb broth.
  • Same: Dahi ka Dungara Gosht shares lamb, onion, green chilli, mint and ghee with this dish.
  • Different: It adds yogurt, garlic, ginger, ground coriander and chilli powder and uses much more ghee, with charcoal smoke and a yoghurt layer, while this dish is a thin broth soured with lime and heavy on fresh coriander and mint.
Jangli Maas
Rustic Hunter's Lamb
Jangli Maas tastes fiery from dried red chillies and rich from ghee with a direct lamb flavour, while this dish tastes herbal, sour from lime and sweet from browned onions with green-chilli heat in a fragrant broth.
  • Same: Jangli Maas shares lamb, ghee, chilli and salt with this dish.
  • Different: Jangli Maas uses much more ghee and lamb, dried red chilli and salt only, and braises low and slow, while this dish uses green chilli, black pepper, onion, coriander, mint and lime juice in a broth.
Sasranga
Baked Spicy Minced (Ground) Meat
Sasranga is richer, creamier, and hotter, lacking the light, herbaceous, and peppery profile of this dish.
  • Same: Sasranga shares the use of lamb, ghee, onions, green chillies, coriander, and lime juice with this dish.
  • Different: Instead of being a simmered broth seasoned with mint and black pepper, Sasranga is a baked ground lamb dish made with cream and ginger.