This recipe came about as I was in the process of making lamb stock.  I had lamb bones in the freezer that needed to be used so I tossed them in a crock pot and cooked for a day.  My roommate, who is very pregnant, came home waxing enthusiastically about how good the soup smelled.  She was in need of food and an ear so we talked as I worked on this recipe.

Hasa Aldaan

Lamb Soup

Translation:

Another recipe for the meat of mountain sheep: take it complete with bones and wash it well and, having added asafetida, onions, fresh ginger, salt, fresh greens and fresh coriander, cook it.  Put in plenty of water.  Add some pepper and lime juice and, when it is well cooked, take it off and either eat as it is or else flavor it with asafetida essence.  (The Nimatnama Manuscript of the Sultans of Mandu, pp. 26)

Ingredients:

1 lb lamp with bones

1/2 onion

1/2 tsp asafetida

2 Tbs. fresh ginger chopped

1 tsp. salt (or to taste)

2 C. Spinach (or greens of your liking)

1 tsp ground Coriander or 1/4 C. chopped Cilantro

2 Tbs. lime juice

Redaction:

I took the broth with chunks of lamb, de-boning as I went, so that the lamb meat was shredding as I stirred.

I added spinach.  Why spinach?  Because that’s the greens I had on hand.  You can use just about any greens found so don’t limit yourself to just one type.  Try different flavors.

Because I was only cooking for two, I used half an onion.  The ginger chopped down to a little more than expected but I love fresh ginger in soup so I kept the extra.  I only had dried coriander on hand so that was what was used.  If you have fresh, use that! The salt ended up being 2 tsp, being to my taste.

Here everything but the lime juice has been added and is simmering.  Not boiling, simmering.

The lime juice was added at the end and give a nice bright flavor.

I liked this recipe.  It’s more than meat, greens, salt and water.  You get to play with the flavoring a little as you try different greens, with fresh or dried coriander