Delicious Chicken Balls Soup, or Gondi, is a Jewish Persian chicken soup. It’s usually mixed with chickpea flour. But if you don’t have chickpea flour in your pantry, then this Gondi soup recipe is for you. Instead of chickpea flour, matzo meal mixed with eggs for Passover, and regular breadcrumbs, or panko, for the rest of the year.
Looking all beautiful like matzo balls, Gondi balls are typically cooked in and served as a soup. For this purpose, you’ll want to make 1-1/2 times the size of a ping pong ball. Alternatively, you could serve them in a much smaller size as an appetizer in an empty dish, or on top of cooked chickpeas or rice.
My First Crush on Gondi Soup
So, I ate Persian Gondi soup at a friend’s house years ago, and the rest is history.
Gondi is a Traditional Jewish Persian Soup
Chicken balls soup was invented by Persian Jews to create a wholesome, filling and delicious dish that wouldn’t need to use breadcrumbs. Chickpea flour is used instead.
That being said, as mentioned above, this Gondi soup recipe calls for matzo meal.It might be a spice used in modern days in Persia, but I’m not sure that it was used years ago in original traditional Gondi soup recipes.
So, here is my Gondi soup recipe.
Equipment
large pot (preferably non-stick)
cutting board
slicing knife
mixing bowl
parchment paper
Ingredients of Gondi Balls
Ground Chicken Mixture
Matzo Meal
Or breadcrumbs
Eggs
Medium
Neutral oil
Or olive oil (mild aroma), or other vegetable oils.
Turmeric powder
Or other spices in place of these spices.
Kosher salt and black pepper
For the broth, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom. The spices are optional. Choose some or all of them, or swap them for your favorite chicken soup spices.
Broth + Veggies
White onion, zucchini, carrots, celery stalk and leaves, fresh garlic cloves, neutral oil, turmeric (and optional cumin powder), or curry powder, Kosher salt, black pepper, Boiling water
Instructions
The preparation is very simple. Mix ground chicken with matzo meal (breadcrumbs for the rest of the year), eggs and a bit of oil in a large bowl. Then and the spices. Mix until all has been incorporated. We’ll call this the dough.
Place the dough into the freezer for 1-1/2 hours.
After 1-1/4 hours of the dough being in the freezer, begin the step of the preparation of the soup: broth + veggies.
The Broth + Veggies
On a large burner and high flame, sauté onion in in a large non-stick soup pot oil until translucid .
Add the vegetables and sauté for around 7 minutes. Add the spices and garlic, then fill the pot with most of the boiling water.
Simmer the veggies for 10 minutes.
While the soup is simmering for 10 minutes, it is time to remove the dough from the freezer and mold it into balls. Place them on parch paper.
After the 10 minutes are up, add the chicken balls, several at a time, into the boiling broth. Making sure the broth is always boiling. Simmer for 40 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft, yet not soggy. Don’t over-cook so the balls don’t fall apart.
I hope you enjoy Chicken Balls Soup – Gondi
Enjoy!
Related recipes:
Cannellini – Hearty White Bean Soup in Tomatoes
Vegan Mushroom Barley Soup (not for Passover)
Other Chicken Balls Recipes
Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs Cooked in Tomato-Cabbage Sauce
Israeli Fluffy Chicken Balls in Tomato Sauce
Chicken Balls in Piquant Sauce
Chicken-Ball Soup - Gondi without Chickpeas
Perfect chicken balls soup of Persian Gondi.
Ingredients
CHICKEN BALLS
- 800 grams ground chicken
- ½ cup matzo meal (⅓ cup natural breadcrumbs)
- 3 medium eggs
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper powder (optional)
SOUP BROTH + VEGGIES
- 1 onion, coarsely diced
- 2 zucchinis, coarsely diced
- 2 carrots, sliced into rings
- 3 celery stalks, cut horizontally into ½ inches
- Celery leaves, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, chopped
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt or to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 2½ quarts boiling water (1 to 2 liters)
Instructions
Mix ground chicken with all ingredients. Place in the freezer for 1½ hour.
Meanwhile, rinse and slice the vegetables and get the spices measured.
Don't start preparing the soup until 20 minutes before the 1½ hours are up.
Heat oil in a large pot, then add the chopped onion and sauté it for around 4 minutes, until it's translucid.
Add the vegetables (excluding the garlic). Reduce the heat and sauté for 7 minutes.
Add spices and now add the chopped garlic and sauté another minute.
Pour 2 quarts (liters) boiling water into the pot, and bring to a boil. Simmer vegetables for 10 minutes. Add the remaining ½ quart (½ liter) of boiling water. Add more if necessary.
Meanwhile, remove the chicken dough from the freezer. Form chicken balls and set them aside on parchment paper.
After 10 minutes of the simmering of the vegetables, add the chicken balls to the boiling broth. Simmer for another 40 minutes, or until everything is soft to the degree of your liking. Make sure not to overcook the chicken balls to prevent them from falling apart.
Notes
You can optionally add: 1 teaspoon curry powder, or
½ teaspoon cumin powder with the turmeric. But this is optional.
For extra flavor, I like to sauté a few chicken wings or a couple of chicken shanks along with the veggies. This enhances the chicken flavor of the soup. Adjust salt accordingly