AI-generated image
Kawari (Sudanese trotter soup)
Kawari: cow's trotters simmered for hours with garlic, lime and chilli into a rich, sticky broth
Small restaurants in Khartoum's markets open early to sell bowls of kawari, a soup of cow's or sheep's trotters cooked for hours until the meat and gelatinous skin slip off the bone and the broth turns rich and sticky. It is seasoned simply with onion, garlic, cardamom and black pepper and then brightened at the table with lime, chilli and raw garlic, and it is eaten with bread, especially on cold mornings and as a reviving breakfast. The flavour is deep and meaty, the texture silky. Skipping the first blanch is the usual mistake: it leaves the soup murky and smelling of the farmyard. Buy trotters already cleaned and cut by the butcher, and scrape off any remaining hair. Chef's tip: a pressure cooker cuts the simmering to about 1½ hours.
- Total time
- 270 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the soup
- 3 ⅓ lb cow's trotterscleaned and cut into pieces by the butcher; or 6 sheep's trotters
- 1 limehalved, for cleaning
- 12 ½ cups water
- 2 onionsquartered
- 8 cloves garliccrushed
- 4 cardamom podscrushed
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 tsp salt
To serve
- 2 limescut into wedges
- 2 green chillieschopped
- 2 cloves garlic (optional)crushed with a pinch of salt
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Scrape the 3 ⅓ lb cow's trotters with a knife to remove any hairs, rub all over with the cut 1 lime and rinse well.
Step 2: Put them in a large pot, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse the trotters and the pot.
15 minStep 3: Return the trotters to the clean pot with the 12 ½ cups water, 2 onions, 8 cloves garlic, 4 cardamom pods, 2 bay leaves and 1 tsp black peppercorns. Bring to the boil and skim off the foam.
10 minStep 4: Cover and simmer very gently for 3½ hours, topping up with boiling water to keep the trotters covered, until the meat and skin fall away from the bones when prodded.
210 minStep 5: Add the 2 tsp salt. Lift out the bones and discard; return the meat and skin to the broth. Simmer 5 minutes more. The broth should be glossy and slightly sticky on the lips.
5 minStep 6: Serve very hot with 2 limes, 2 green chillies and 2 cloves garlic at the table, and bread.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 4 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kawari (Sudanese trotter soup) take?
- About 270 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 240 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of lime?
- Lemon, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian
BabboucheSpiced snail broth
After dark in Marrakech's great square, the babbouche stalls are recognisable by their steaming cauldrons and the toothpicks laid out by every bowl. Small land snails simmer in a dark broth of liquorice root, aniseed, thyme, caraway, bitter orange peel, chilli and a bundle of herbs that sellers say has fifteen ingredients, believed to soothe the stomach and warm you on a cold night. You pick the snails out with a toothpick, then drink the peppery, herbal, faintly sweet broth. At home, buy live snails sold for cooking, already purged by a reputable seller, discard any with broken shells or that do not move or retract when touched, and cook them through for at least 45 minutes. Chef's tip: keep the spices in a muslin bag; the broth stays clear and you avoid crunching on seeds.
Moroccan