A Warming Miracle: The Soup “Arabaşı”

In many regions in central Anatolia, it is started to be cooked as “ara aşı” and today it is known as “arabaşı” and this soup is one of the most wondered tastes. This soup is an undiscovered taste of Turkish cuisine and it is consumed in a different way when compared to other kinds of soups. It is consumed with a kind of cold dough. The cold dough and the soup come together and the other ingredients are browning flour, hot pepper and meat (chicken, goose or turkey). The cold dough is prepared with flour, water and salt. The flour is turned into a kind of batter and then put into a tray. After that, it is waited to be cold. You do not chew the dough and swallow it directly with the soup. “Arabaşı” soup is commonly cooked with chicken meat. However, in villages sometimes people use turkey, goose, partridge and rabbit.

HOW TO COOK THE SOUP

Put five tablespoons of flour and butter in a big saucepan and brown it. Add two tablespoons of tomato paste and a tablespoon of red-pepper paste and brown it more. Add chicken broth, water, chicken meat in pieces, chili pepper, pepper and lemon juice. A bowl of soup is put into the middle of the dough-tray and served.

HOW TO COOK THE DOUGH 

Put three glasses of water and one coffee spoon of salt in a saucepan. In another bowl mix one glass of flour with two glasses of cold water. When the mixture on the cooker started boiling, add the cold mixture and mix it for five more minutes. Put the dough in a wet tray. Let it cool at room temperature for an hour and let it rest for another three or four hours in a colder place.

Key points: 

Don't forget to mix the dough constantly while cooking. The dough should be absolutely smooth. The tray should be wet enough. Otherwise, the dough will stick to it. Be careful! If the soup is too clear, you can add more browned four. Do not put the dough in a cold place immediately. First, rest it at room temperature for an hour. Don’t forget to make the knife wet while cutting the dough into pieces. Be quick while you are putting the cooked dough into the tray.