Kurdish · soup

Dowjic (Chicken and Yoghurt Soup with Rice)

Name: Dowjic (Chicken and Yoghurt Soup with Rice)
Prep time: 1 h 33 min
Total time: 1 h 34 min
Cuisine: Kurdish
Ingredients: chicken — 1200 g; water — 1500 g; onion — 120 g; cardamom pods — 400 g; cinnamon — 3 g; salt — 10 g; short-grain rice — 120 g; yogurt — 800 g; egg — 55 g; cornflour — 8 g; unsalted butter — 30 g; mint — 20 g; garlic — 12 g; freshly ground black pepper — 3 g

Dowjic (Chicken and Yoghurt Soup with Rice) reads richness 4.9, warm spice 4.7 and allium 4.3 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Kurdish soup, about 1 hr 34 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 4.3 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 2.0 / 10
Sour & Bright — 3.1 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.4 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.1 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 5.6 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 4.9 · Warm Spice 4.7 · Allium 4.3 · Herbaceous 4.0 · Salinity 3.7 · Floral 3.5 · Umami 3.5 · Funk & Ferment 3.5 · Sourness 2.9 · Sweetness 1.8 · Earthy 1.2 · Bitterness 1.1 · Nutty 0.8 · Citrus 0.6 · Fruity 0.6 · Heat 0.5

What's in it (14)

chicken — 1200 g
water — 1500 g
onion — 120 g
cardamom pods — 400 g
cinnamon — 3 g
salt — 10 g
short-grain rice — 120 g
yogurt — 800 g
egg — 55 g
cornflour — 8 g
unsalted butter — 30 g
mint — 20 g
garlic — 12 g
freshly ground black pepper — 3 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 34 min (1 hr 33 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 92.7 kcal, 7.1 g protein, 3.6 g fat, 10.7 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

Simmer the chicken with the water, halved onion, cardamom, cinnamon and half the salt for 50 minutes, skimming at the start, until the meat comes away from the bone. Lift out the chicken, strain the broth and discard the aromatics. Pull the meat into large shreds.
Cook the rice in the strained broth for 15 minutes until soft — softer than you would want for pilaf, because it thickens the soup.
Whisk the yoghurt with the egg and the cornflour, slaked in a little cold water, until completely smooth. Kurdish and Levantine kitchens both stabilise yoghurt this way, and it is the only reliable insurance against curdling.
Ladle a cup of the hot broth into the yoghurt while whisking to temper it, then pour the yoghurt into the pot in a thin stream, whisking all the time.
Bring back to a bare simmer over medium-low heat, stirring constantly in one direction with a wooden spoon for 10 minutes, until it thickens to the consistency of single cream. It must never stop moving while it heats, and it must never reach a rolling boil.
Return the shredded chicken, add the remaining salt and the black pepper, and simmer very gently 5 minutes more.
Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat, add the crushed garlic and cook 30 seconds, then take off the heat and crumble in the dried mint so it sizzles without burning.
Pour the mint butter over the soup and serve at once. It is a winter dish and eaten with bread torn into the bowl.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Gardiane de Taureau — French · Languedoc
Chicken Biryani — Indian
Rogan Josh with Praan and Ratanjot — Indian · Kashmir
Kadhi with Jaggery and Whole Spice — Indian · Gujarat
Mutton Yakhni (Curd Stew with Fennel and Asafoetida, No Onion or Garlic) — Indian · Kashmir

Keep reading: what richness, warm spice, allium mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.