Here is a soup that I had in Pakistan’s most famous northwestern city, Peshawar. Many of the grander Muslim families, in both India and Pakistan, offer some form of aab gosht, or meat broth, at the start of a meal. Sometimes it comes in cups even before one is seated and requires just sipping. This is a variation of that and requires a spoon. What I was offered on a rather cold day was a steaming bowl of well-seasoned goat broth in which floated oyster mushrooms and slices of river fish. It was so delicious that I decided to come up with a version myself. I have used beef stock, though lamb stock would do as well. If you cannot get fresh oyster mushrooms, use the canned ones, sold by all Chinese grocers, or canned straw mushrooms. Just drain them and rinse them out.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　5 1/4 cups beef broth/stock

　　1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

　　1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds

　　1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds

　　6 cardamom pods

　　6 whole cloves

　　1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

　　Salt

　　1 tablespoon olive or canola oil

　　4 ounces fresh oyster mushrooms, broken apart into 1 1/2-inch pieces

　　1 fresh green bird’s-eye chili, or about 1/8 teaspoon of any fresh hot green chili, finely chopped

　　1/2 pound fillet of any white fish, such as flounder, without skin, cut into 1-inch by 2-inch pieces and sprinkled lightly with salt on both sides

　　4 tablespoons chopped cilantro

　　

Step 1

Put the broth, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom, cloves, and peppercorns in a medium pan and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer very gently for 20 minutes. Strain, then pour strained broth back into the same pan. Check the salt and make adjustments, if needed.

　　

Step 2

Pour the oil into a nonstick frying pan and set on medium-high heat. When hot, put in the mushrooms and green chili. Stir and sauté for about 2 minutes or until the mushrooms have softened. Salt lightly and stir. Transfer the contents of the frying pan to the pan with the broth.

　　

Step 3

Just before eating, bring the broth to a boil. Slip in the fish pieces, turning the heat to low. When the fish pieces turn opaque and the broth is simmering, the soup is ready. Sprinkle in the cilantro, stir once, and serve.

　　Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Buy the full book from Amazon.