‘Olla’ You Need Is Spicy Meat Soup

This soup is inspired by the Mexican delight, the Mole de Olla. The Mole de Olla is a gorgeous traditional beef stew which starts out as a broth, until a heavy-duty blend of sesame seeds, chilies and tomatoes are added in, along with a heck load of veggies. It’s a meal in a pot, which essentially is what ‘Olla’ in Spanish means – cooking pot.
We, of course, find it hard to get all of the ingredients needed to make this Mexican classic, so we decide to improvise, while keeping in with the spirit of the meal.
The result is an amazingly hearty and flavourful soup, guaranteed to satisfy. So let’s begin.

Ingredients

• 8-10 cups mutton stock
• 2 large onions, rough chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• Curry leaves from one stalk
• 1/2 cup chopped chorizo
• 2 cubes salted ham [the kind used in Chinese soups]
• Chicken bones and meat
• 2 large green chilies, roasted
• 1 head of garlic, roasted
• 1 medium onion, roasted
• 3 medium tomatoes, roasted
• 4 green chili padi [bird's eye chilies], roasted
• 2 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
• 6 dried red chilies, soaked [Reserve the soaking liquid]
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 tsp cajun seasoning
• Handful french beans, chopped
• 1 can kidney beans rinsed
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• Handful cilantro, chopped
• Pepper
• Salt

Instructions

1. In a stock pot, pour in the meat broth and enough water to fill the pot 3/4 of the way. Throw in the chopped onion, crushed garlic cloves, bay leaves, curry leaves, chopped chorizo, salted ham, chicken meat and bones and bring the mixture to a boil.
2. Allow to boil for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and cover for 45 minutes to allow the chicken meat to poach.
3. Remove the chicken. Strip and floss the meat, return the bones and any juices back to the pot, and bring the broth back to the boil. Lightly salt the flossed chicken meat and reserve for later.
4. Reduce the broth to a low simmer, add salt and pepper and allow to cook for about 3 hours.
5. Meanwhile, blend the roasted ingredients, along with 2 tbsp toasted sesame seed and dried chillies, using some of the chili soaking liquid to help with the blending.
6. After 3 hours, remove the chicken bones, the onion, garlic, bay leaves and curry leaves from the broth. Return the chorizo and ham to the pot.
7. Add in the blended ingredients, cajun seasoning and garam masala powder, stir well and allow to cook for 30 minutes. Check seasoning.
8. Add in the kidney beans, vegetables and chicken meat to the mix and cook until the vegetables are tender, bout 10 to 15 minutes.
9. Turn off the heat and add in the cilantro.
10. To serve, ladle into bowls and top with leftover toasted sesame seeds.

Note

We had mutton stock in the freezer from when we pressure-cooked some mutton awhile back, but beef, pork or chicken broth all work fine. It’s all about building the flavours!