Name: Pigeon soup
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 15 g/½ oz fresh root ginger, finely chopped; 2.5 ml/½ tsp salt, or to taste; 150 ml/¼ pint/⅔ cup single (light) cream warm Indian bread, to serve; 5 ml/1 tsp cumin seeds; 15 ml/1 tbsp sunflower or light olive oil; 15 ml/1 tbsp butter; 2 wood pigeons, prepared; 2.5 cm/1 in piece cinnamon stick; 2 brown cardamom pods; 2.5 ml/½ tsp black peppercorns; 2 cloves garlic, crushed, or 10 ml/2 tsp garlic purée; 2 bay leaves; 150 g/5 oz potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm/½ in dice

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Complete Indian Regional Cookbook

By Mridula Baljekar

Published 2017

About

In Assam, birds such as duck and pigeon are common in everyday cooking and many households keep their own. In Paror Soup they are gently braised, so that the meat is tender.

Ingredients

5 ml/1 tsp cumin seeds
2.5 ml/½

Method

Preheat a small, heavy pan over a medium heat and dry-roast the cumin seeds and black peppercorns for about 40 seconds, until they release their aroma. Remove from the heat. Leave to cool, then finely crush them in a mortar and pestle.