Today’s dish happened as a happy mistake. I was intending to make some Soup Kambing (Mutton or Goat Soup). It’s one of those unhealthy dishes that I used to enjoy having in Singapore especially the one at Jalan Kayu or Adam Road. I enjoy soaking my french bread into the soup and washing down the meal with a hot glass of teh tarik (froth covered tea).

Ah! Just describing it is bringing back the smell of that soup. Well anyway, here’s what happened. I had missing ingredients as well as the meat I defrosted was beef instead of mutton! Yikes… So I decided to improvise and surprised myself with a good enough, if not fantastic - spicy beef soup for starters. And I must say, this version definitely has less oil floating on it and therefore a healthier version.

Ingredients:

Part 1
500 gm beef (if you had some pieces with bones it’ll be tastier)
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp coriander powder
6 cups of water

Part 2
2 tbsp oil
2-3 cardamoms
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves, chopped
1 1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 1/2 tbsp Eastern Mutton Masala powder (see below for image)
3/4 cup coconut milk
2 potatoes - halved lengthwise and cut into 3 parts each
3 carrots - cut into 2 inch pieces
salt to taste

Garnish:

Spring onion
Chopped coriander leaves

Method:

1. Cut the beef into bite size pieces and rub some salt into the meat.
2. In a big pot/saucepan put everything in Part A and bring to a boil. Boil for 20 min then simmer for another 10min.
3. Pour the stock into a big enough bowl. Remove the meat from the stock. Save it for later.
4. In a small bowl, mix the Eastern Masala with about 2 tablespoons of the stock to make a paste.
5. In the same pot, heat the oil. Add the onion, cloves, garlic, cardamom and ginger. Fry till fragrant.
6. Add the Masala paste and fry for another 3 minutes or till fragrant. Do not burn the Masala.
7. Lower the fire and add coconut milk a little at a time and stir so that all the Masala paste sticking to the pot base comes off nicely.
8. Add the stock, potatoes, carrots, meat and salt. Bring to a boil. Stir occasionally. When the potatoes are cooked, turn off the heat.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves and spring onion.
10. Serve hot with bread or by itself as a starter.

Tips:

• If you’re looking to buy spices, try the local Indian stores. They are normally cheaper than the supermarkets as well as some Asian/Chinese stores. You’ll also find greater variety and therefore have a choice.
• This soup is meant as a starter and therefore might be rather thin to be eaten with rice.

Notes:

Here’s what Eastern Mutton Masala looks like. You might want to try your own preferred brand and see if the taste works for you.