Punjab soup – our family heirloom recipe

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My paternal grandfather had traveled extensively within India and during one of his trips must have come across this dish in North India. He called it ‘Punjab soup’. We still don’t know if there is really such a dish in Punjab… it was made with potatoes, onions and tomatoes – all three cut into large wedges. This dish has a runny flavorful broth and as kids we loved to soak up our rotis in this ‘soup’ and slurp 🙂 

Growing up, this dish was one of the ‘north indian’ offerings put together by my paternal grandmother, before all the true Punjabi gravies made their way into our home. (Which happened after my mom took over the kitchen 😆) 

This dish is very simple, the flavors are very mild and yet it packs a punch and is very heartwarming. Reach out for this recipe on a day when it is cold or hot, not in the mood for something heavy…. Inspite of its simplicity, it will make an impact on your audience, guaranteed ! 

A simple dry roasted paste made of cumin seeds, dried red chillies and peppercorns. Add some pearl onions to provide depth. I make it with baby potatoes, cherry tomatoes and pearl onions – try to keep them all whole. Today I was able to use heirloom tomatoes of a variety of colors and triple potatoes – yellow, red and purple. 

Punjab soup recipe

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Ingredients –

• Peewee bite sized potatoes – 2 lbs 
• Cherry tomatoes – 20 
• Pearl onions – 20 
• Cilantro chopped – 2 tbsps 

Dry roast and grind to a paste – 

• Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
• Black peppercorns – 1 tsp 
• Dried Red chilles – 4
• Pearl onions – 4

• Seasoning – cumin – 1 tsp 
• Oil 

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Procedure –

1. Cook the potatoes, fork tender and keep aside
2. Start a deep dish pan on the stove, add oil and cumin seeds, fry to golden
3. Add the pearl onions and fry on medium flame until light brown
4. Add the potatoes, 2 cups of water and salt
5. Add the paste and cover and cook for 3-4 minutes to absorb the flavors
6. Add the tomatoes and turn off the heat and let it cook in the same heat, this ensures the tomatoes stay whole and does get over-cooked
7. Finally garnish chopped cilantro
8. This goes well with both rice and roti.