Murgh Shorba: An Easy Indian Chicken Soup

Murgh shorba is a popular Indian soup. Murgh means chicken, and shorba is a word used interchangeably with soup, so murgh shorba is the Indian version of chicken soup. While soups are traditionally eaten as a starter in Indian cuisine, a shorba is sometimes eaten between courses or as part of the main course.

There are many variations of murgh shorba, and recipes for the Indian chicken soup are often passed through the generations of a family. Therefore, there are significant differences in the ingredients used, the taste, and the appearance of the soup.

Generally, this Indian soup is a thinner version of chicken curry, as it contains meat and spices. However, the consistency can differ widely, with some variations having the appearance of a thin broth rather than a soup.

Useful Information

Ingredients for the Murgh Shorba Recipe

• 500g boneless chicken thighs
• 2 large onions, finely diced
• 1 chilli, finely diced
• 4 cloves of garlic
• ½ cup/ 120 ml of yoghurt
• 1/2 inch of fresh ginger
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• A teaspoon each of chilli powder, dried chilli flakes, turmeric, and garam masala
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• Salt to season

How to Make Murgh Shorba

• Chop the onions, garlic, ginger, and chillies, and put them into a jug.
• Blend the contents of the jug to make a paste.
• Prepare the chicken thighs by removing the skin and dicing. If you have bought whole thighs instead of boneless, you will also need to remove the bones.
• Put a large pan over medium heat on the hob and add the olive oil.
• Next, add the diced chicken thighs to the pan and sauté for five minutes, stirring once, so the chicken pieces begin to cook on the outside to seal.
• Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside on a plate.
• Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and chilli paste to the pan, and cook for a further five minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the yoghurt into a bowl and stir in all the dried spices.
• Add the yoghurt and spice mix to the pan, and then stir the ingredients together.
• Cook for five minutes over medium heat before returning the chicken to the pan.
• Add water to the pan; enough to achieve your desired consistency, and season the soup with salt.
• Cover the pan with the lid, and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Remove the lid from the pan, stir the murgh shorba, and cook for a further five minutes.
• Check that the chicken is cooked through. If not, continue to cook the soup until the chicken is cooked. Otherwise, serve the soup immediately.

Additional Tips

• You can serve the Indian chicken soup as it is or garnish it with some yoghurt and chopped fresh coriander (cilantro).
• Flatbreads are a fantastic accompaniment to murgh shorba.
• If you like this soup, then you might also like our recipes for chicken mulligatawny, lamb mulligatawny, lentil mulligatawny, and vegetable mulligatawny.
• You can adapt the heat of the murgh shorba recipe by increasing or decreasing the amount of chilli in the soup.
• It is easy to adapt the flavours to suit your tastes by experimenting with different spices or flavourings, such as mustard seed or tamarind.