Thyme for some healing soup recipes from around the world
A steaming bowl of something delicious might just be the world’s most popular form of medicine. In nearly every culture, there’s a soup known for its superpowers, especially when cooked with love by an elderly relative.
A cure after a night of feasting
By Daro Sulakauri
My great-grandfather and his friends had a tradition. They would feast on Saturday nights, and then they would gather at 6 a.m. on Sunday to eat their favorite hangover cure: khashi, a slow-cooked soup made with beef tripe, hooves and bones. After a brief rest, they would attend a service at Tbilisi’s Sioni Cathedral at 9 a.m. to listen to the sacred choir singing and, afterward, drink champagne and enjoy good coffee at a nearby café.
This is what I know from my father, who closely absorbed his grandfather’s traditions, growing up in the 1940s. My dad became a well-known artist in Georgia. But aside from painting, he enjoys cooking, and khashi is one of his specialties.
Khashi comes from both the mountains and lowlands of Georgia. Because the preparation is a labor-intensive and lengthy process, khashi was reserved for special occasions. Khashi was mainly eaten when cattle were slaughtered for a large feast. Traditionally, cooking would begin at midnight and guests would be served in the morning.
Top row: David Sulakauri cuts meat in smaller pieces for khashi, a Georgian soup, and cuts up garlic as well. Bottom row: Sulakauri finished up the soup and gets it ready to serve at his home in Tbilisi, Georgia. “Boil the ingredients,” he says. “The first batch of water should be discarded to remove any strong smell and clean out any excess particles.”
Daro Sulakauri for NPR
The soup was also specially prepared as a medicinal dish. Khashi was consumed for colds, gastrointestinal diseases, fractures and wounds. The primary nutritional value is thought to be in the natural gelatin, which is released during cooking. Research shows gelatin may have several benefits, including in injury prevention and tissue repair.
Khashi
Active time: 40 minutes
Total time: 7 ½ hours
Yield: 10-12 servings
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds beef tendon
2 pounds oxtail
water
2 cups whole milk
8 cloves of garlic
salt
Equipment
cleaver or very sharp knife
large stockpot
microplane or garlic press
Put the beef tendon into a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water. After rinsing, use a cleaver or a very sharp knife to cut the beef tendon into 3- to 4-inch pieces.
Add the beef tendon to a large stockpot along with the oxtail and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then discard the water.
Refill the pot until the tendon and oxtails are covered with 4 inches of water. Simmer on low heat for 6-7 hours with the lid mostly covering the pot but open a tiny crack.
Check the pot periodically and skim off any foam or scum that comes to the surface. The oxtails will render a significant amount of fat as they cook. Make sure to skim the fat globules off the top of the broth. Add water as necessary to keep the oxtails and tendon covered.
When the oxtail meat is fork-tender and the tendon is very soft and creamy (taste a piece!), add 2 cups of milk. Continue cooking just until the broth comes to a boil again, then turn off the heat.
Peel the skins from the cloves of garlic. Use a microplane or a garlic press to finely grate the garlic into a medium bowl. Ladle a cup of broth into the bowl and stir.
Serve the soup in bowls, making sure there are a few pieces of oxtail and tendon in each bowl. Serve with lavash (or another kind of flatbread), a small bowl of sea salt and the garlicky broth, which people can use to season their individual bowls of soup.
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