People throng soup stalls as mercury dips

Intermittent rains spike sales of winter delights in twin cities

ISLAMABAD:

With intermittent showers causing a sudden dip in temperatures, the demand for warm soup and Yakhni has increased in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. As the temperature drops in the twin cities, the sale of chicken corn soup becomes commonplace every year. Numerous stalls have sprung up in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Murree as a throng of people could be seen muddling around soup stalls, many of these have been in business for several years and boast a loyal customer base.

According to a survey carried out by The Express Tribune in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Bank Road, Haider Road, Lal Kurti, Adiala Road, Scheme-III, Commercial Market, Westridge Market, Supermarket, Jinnah, Supermarket, Melody Market, Aslam Market, Wah Cantonment etc have various shops and stalls selling chicken corn soup.

Stall in business for two decades

Kamran, a stallholder on Bank Road, told The Express Tribune he has been in the business for the last two decades. He sells two types of soups: chicken corn Chinese soup, and chicken broth.

The seller said the season starts in November and ends in February. Kamran added that children and women like Chinese soup, while men and the elderly prefer to have the broth. Talking about the chicken corn soup recipe, he said that chicken is boiled for two hours at 80 degrees centigrade and crushed corn, cornflour and eggs are added to it. Then, boiled carrots, cauliflower, capsicum, ginger, garlic, eggs, and tomatoes are cooked for approximately 90 minutes to constitute the base. The previously shredded boiled chicken, chilli sauce and vinegar, sprinkled with pepper and salt are added to it. While talking about the chicken broth, he said the meat is boiled along with its skin.

Then 34 types of spices are used, and four types of herbs are also added, which is then cooked for four hours. The soup vendor said that it takes eight hours to prepare with winter delights before it is served to customers from 8 pm to 2 am in the wee hours. He added that eggs and spices have become so expensive that he had to jack up the price of one bowl of soup from Rs80 last year to Rs120 this year.

He said that the bouillon is sold for Rs100. Numerous stalls have sprung up in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Murree, and people are often seen rushing to them.