Mashawa (Meatball Soup)

The Mashawa soup has a variety of beans and herbs topped with meat sauce and spicy yogurt.

Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 2 hrs
Yield: 8
Ingredients

• 1 cup dried kidney beans
• 1 cup dried garbanzo beans
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 lb ground turkey (substituting for ground lamb)
• 1 (15 1/2 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons dried dill
• 3/4 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon dried cilantro
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup yellow split peas
• 1/2 cup split peas

Yogurt sauce

• 8 ounces plain yogurt
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 teaspoon ground dried mint

Directions

1. In large kettle, bring 1 gallon water to a boil. Add kidney beans and garbanzo beans and boil, uncovered, 1 to 1½ hours or until beans are tender. Remove from heat and drain. Do not rinse. Set beans aside.
2. In large kettle, heat oil. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add lamb and chicken and sauté, turning, until evenly browned.
3. To the lamb/chicken mixture, add tomatoes, spices and stock and split peas. Add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered over low heat 2 hours.
4. Combine meat mixture with reserved beans and heat through if needed. Pour into individual bowls and top each serving with about a tablespoon of the yogurt sauce. Serve with Afghan flatbread. Makes 8 to 10 side-dish servings.
5. Note: This soup has the best flavor when served the next day. It is usually served as a side dish, but can be a main dish.
6. Upon the tester’s advice, we adjusted the recipe slightly to add more tomatoes and chicken stock. (The original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of crushed tomatoes and ¼ cup chicken stock.).