Begova Corba (Bosnian Bey's Chicken and Okra Soup)

• 500 g chicken drumsticks and thighs (bone-in), meat shredded off the bone
• about 2.5 litres water
• 2 large carrots
• 1 small white carrot (parsley root or parsnip)
• 1 piece celeriac (celery root)
• 1 onion, simmered whole for flavour and then discarded
• 100 g okra (bamija), fresh or dried
• a squeeze of lemon for the okra water, plus lemon slices to serve
• 1 egg yolk
• 100 g sour cream (pavlaka)
• 2 tbsp plain flour (25 g)
• Salt: salt and dry vegetable seasoning (Vegeta), to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• a generous handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

Method

The cook speaks Serbian; every step is written here in English. Tap a time to watch that step in the video. The video’s English subtitles come on by themselves.

1. Put the chicken in a pot with about 2.5 litres water and bring to the boil. After 15 minutes add the carrots, white carrot, celeriac and the whole onion, and simmer until the meat is very tender (20–30 minutes more on camera; up to an hour). 0:18
2. About 15 minutes before the end, cook the okra separately in a little water with a squeeze of lemon juice, then drain. 1:53
3. Lift out the meat and vegetables to cool. Shred the chicken off the bone. Finely chop one carrot and 3–4 okra pods; blend the rest of the vegetables and discard the onion. Strain the broth over them, add the meat and seasoning and bring to the boil. 4:00
4. Whisk the egg yolk, sour cream and flour until smooth, stir in a ladle of hot broth, then pour it slowly into the soup, stirring all the time. When it boils again, turn off the heat. 7:54
5. Stir in a generous handful of chopped parsley and serve with a slice of lemon (or a dash of vinegar). 9:24

Tip. Serves about 6 (the cook doesn't say). In Sarajevo it opens the iftar meal. Fresh, frozen or dried okra all work, and 50–70 g is enough if that's what you have. Bread is the usual side; skip it to keep carbs low.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.