Wheat Soup

Wheat soup is commonly prepared with cracked wheat or bulghur wheat. Almost every culture in Asia has a variety of this dish that is cooked with meat, vegetables or chicken to form a thick flavored soup.

Wheat Soup: Ingredients Used and Preparation Overview

Wheat soup is prepared with bulghur or burghul which is a completely different variety of wheat. Traditionally, this variety of wheat is provided parboiled or dried with the bran removed. A few cultures also use cracked wheat instead of bulgur. Usually, the wheat is allowed to soak for two hours and then, cooked on a low flame till it becomes soft. According to different recipes, varying ingredients are added to the dish. For example, chicken, meat, goat, lamb, vegetables etc are added to the boiled wheat. Flavoring ingredients like cumin, pepper, coriander, etc are added to flavor the dish.

Wheat Soup: Serving and Eating

Wheat soup is usually served hot or warm. It can be consumed as dish by itself or as a snack. A few cultures also have sweet varieties of the soup that are served warm as a breakfast dish.

Popular Wheat Soup Variations

Nearly every Asian culture has spicy, sour, and sweet versions of the soup in their cuisine. For example,

• In India, a sweet version and a savory version of this soup are commonly prepared. For example, daliya is a sweet version where cracked wheat is cooked with milk to form a sweet porridge like soup. Daliya is usually consumed as a breakfast dish or reserved as a light dish for fasts. However, in North India, cracked wheat or bulgur is used to make a spicy meat based soup called haleem. In this dish, meat is cooked with the cracked wheat, beans like soya and pinto beans, tomatoes, onions, and spices to form a thick spicy soup. Haleem is traditionally consumed during the winter months as it is a heavy dish.

• A winter Russian soup is also prepared that is made with wheat berries or spelt. Turnips, parsnips and carrots are cooked with the wheat to form a thick winter soup.

• Cracked wheat (dchicha dyal zraa') is used to make a thick winter soup in Morocco too. Cracked wheat is cooked with salt, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, black pepper, and cilantro to form a thick soup called dchicha.

• Another version is called as Ha-saa Al-Gereesh and is prepared with meat, ground cinnamon, cracked wheat black pepper, tomatoes, onions, corn oil, and water.

• A sweet version prepared in Morocco is called as Herbel. This is also called as Moroccan milk- wheat soup.

• Minestra con faro is prepared by stewing onion, carrots, celery, ham bone, ripe tomatoes and salt to produce a thick soup.

Health and Nutrition Facts on Wheat Soups

Cracked wheat or bulgur wheat soup is very nutritious as it has high energy content. One cup of bulgur wheat has 25.6 g of dietary fiber, 17.21 g of protein, and 69 g of carbohydrate.

Trivia

Wheat soup is usually served immediately as otherwise, the wheat grains keep absorbing water continuously and turn the soup thicker in consistency.