RAWALPINDI: With the temperatures dropping, sale of soup has increased across the city, which offers many varieties of steaming cups of broth, including desi yakhni and various Chinese soups.

Soup is served at traditional food outlets and road side stalls as well as in more upscale restaurants.

Chicken corn soup, chicken vegetable soups, and hot and sour soup are among the more popular with residents of the city and can serve as a complete meal.

“We have been serving soup for two decades,” said Mohammad Aslam, the manager of Mei Kong.

“We try to provide the best colour, taste and fragrance, which is why people like our soups. Our chef’s unique methods also ensure soups have a good aroma,” he said.

Munawar Khan, a chef at a Chinese food outlet, said he started his career 28 years ago and received training in Lahore.

“I have been making soups for almost three decades now and I have never used artificial colours or dry ingredients. I always prefer using fresh vegetables and meats,” he said. The secret to a good soup, he said, was not to use boneless chicken for the stock.

“In our special winter soups, we use chicken with bones to make stock from to which we add carrots, mushrooms, cheese and cabbage and cook the mix till it is thick,” he said.

Mr Khan said he does not alter the traditional recipe and that many people add black pepper, salt and soya sauce according to their taste.

The more desi version of the soups is yakhni and various stalls in Saddar see a lot of customers in the winters.

A bowl of soup includes chicken stock, chicken chunks and boiled eggs, all sprinkled with black pepper.

A restaurant owner on Adamjee Road, towards Messy Gate, Tariq Mehmood said his family was in the business since 1973 and had been serving yakhni to Rawalpindi residents since then.

He said his father, Haji Mir Bukhsh, started the business from a push cart and later established the shop in 2006. He said the recipe called for simple ingredients including, water, chicken and a few spices.

“I love having chicken corn soup and always end up ordering it when I eat out,” said Naeem Ahmed, a resident of Chaklala Scheme III.

“A bowl of steaming soup can be a full meal and in the winters, it is good to have soups as people reduce their water intake,” he said.

Fatima Sheikh, another resident, said: “Chicken corn soup has become very common and you can get it from anywhere in the city. But hot and sour is only served in a few select outlets.”

A nutritionist, Dr Tahir Sharif said that soups were a good option and that they provide instant energy in the winters and is also low in calories.

“Chicken and vegetables are used in soups, which are very healthy. People should look for places were artificial colours and flavours and dry meats are not used in soups,” he said.

Published in Dawn December 19th, 2016