Chef-tested recipe
Begova čorba, often translated as Bey’s Soup, is a classic Bosnian chicken-and-okra soup with carrots and root vegetables. Dried okra is common in traditional versions, while fresh okra is a practical substitute. The light cream finish in t
Recipe at a glance
- Servings
- 6 servings
- Cuisine
- Bosnian
- Cooking Method
- Gentle chicken simmering and light soup thickening
- Best Served With
- Somun bread, lemon and chopped parsley
Before you begin
Ingredients & equipment
Gather what you need first, then cook through the method with confidence.
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 950 g bone-in chicken thighs
- 200 g fresh okra, small pods, trimmed without exposing seeds
- 220 g carrot, diced
- 150 g celeriac, peeled and diced
- 180 g onion, quartered
- 25 g parsley leaves and stems, divided
- 1,800 ml water
- 30 g butter
- 25 g plain wheat flour paid link
- 140 g sour cream
- 25 ml lemon juice
- 8 g fine salt, to taste paid link
- 3 g black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
Method
Cook the chicken broth. Place chicken, onion, parsley stems, bay leaf and water in a large pot. Bring to a gentle simmer, skim and cook 35–40 minutes until meat is tender and at least 75°C.
Prepare chicken and vegetables. Remove chicken, cool just enough to handle safely, then discard bones and shred. Strain broth and return to pot.
Cook roots and okra. Add carrot, celeriac and trimmed whole okra to broth and simmer 12–18 minutes until tender. Avoid breaking okra pods unnecessarily.
Make light thickener. In a small pan melt butter and stir in flour for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in a ladle or two of hot broth to make a smooth thin paste.
Combine. Stir thickener into soup, return shredded chicken and simmer gently 5 minutes until broth has light body.
Finish. Temper sour cream with a few spoonfuls of soup, stir in off high heat with lemon juice and parsley leaves. Warm gently without a hard boil. Season and serve.
Beginner Technique Notes
- The soup should be rich but pourable, not a thick velouté.
- Use whole small okra where possible to retain texture.
- This is a simplified egg-free home method; some traditional versions use an egg-yolk liaison.
Substitutions
- Use dried okra prepared according to its product instructions instead of fresh.
- A small amount of celery can replace celeriac when unavailable.
- Double-check commercially prepared chicken stock if substituting it for water.
Storage and Food Safety
Cool soup promptly in shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours at 4°C or below. Use within 2 days and reheat chicken and soup to at least 75°C, stirring gently.
Serving Ideas
- Somun bread, lemon and chopped parsley
Allergen Notes
Milk from butter and sour cream, wheat (gluten) and celery/celeriac. Check stock and bread.
