Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Bosnian · Balkan

Begova čorba (Bey's soup)

Non-vegetarian

Begova čorba

A creamy chicken soup with okra and root vegetables, thickened with a roux and finished with egg yolks, sour cream and lemon. Bosnia's best-known soup.

Begova čorba (Bey's soup) is a Bosnian soup from Bosnia and Herzegovina, ready in about 1 hour 35 minutes and made with chicken pieces, skin-on and okra. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Bowl of creamy Begova čorba chicken soup with bread on the side
Photo: BiHVolim / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
1 h 15 min
Total
1 h 35 min
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
456

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Simmer the chicken in the water with half the salt for 45 minutes, skimming the surface. Lift out, shred the meat and discard skin and bones. Keep the broth.

    Food safety: Simmer until the chicken is cooked through (74 °C).

  2. Step 2

    Melt the butter (opens in a new tab) in a clean pot and soften the onion (opens in a new tab), carrot (opens in a new tab), celery (opens in a new tab) and parsnip (opens in a new tab) for 8 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes.

    • 10 min
    • medium heat
    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Gradually whisk (opens in a new tab) in the hot broth, add the okra (opens in a new tab), and simmer for 15–20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Return the chicken and season with the remaining salt and the pepper (opens in a new tab).

    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Whisk (opens in a new tab) the yolks with the sour cream (opens in a new tab) and lemon juice (opens in a new tab). Whisk in a ladle of hot soup, then stir the mixture back into the pot off the heat. Warm gently without boiling and serve with parsley (opens in a new tab).

    • 5 min
    • low heat

    Boiling after the yolks go in makes the soup curdle.

About this dish

Origin
Bosnia and Herzegovina · Well documentedMore food from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups
Cooking method
Simmered, Boiled
Taste
creamy, savoury, tangy, mild
Diet
No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Cook more with
Chicken pieces, skin-on · Okra · Carrot · Celery · Parsnip · Onion
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering · Roux thickening

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom butter, sour cream
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg yolk
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Celeryfrom celery

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

456 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 613 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 25%
  • Carbohydrate 12%
  • Fat 63%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy456 kcal74 kcal
Protein27.9 g4.6 g
Carbohydrate13.7 g2.2 g
Net carbohydrate10.6 g1.7 g
Sugars4.3 g0.7 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre3.1 g0.5 g
Fat32.1 g5.2 g
Saturated fat12.3 g2 g
Trans fat0.5 g0.1 g
Cholesterol191 mg31 mg
Sodium960 mg157 mg
Salt equivalent2.4 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
590 mg
Calcium
130 mg
Iron
2 mg
Magnesium
64 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
337 µg
Vitamin C
18 mg
Vitamin D
0.6 µg
Vitamin B12
0.6 µg
Folate (DFE)
70 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Dried okra should be soaked in warm water with a little lemon juice for 30 minutes before adding.

Common mistakes

  • Adding the yolk mixture straight into the boiling soup scrambles it — temper it with a ladle of soup first.

Serve with

  • Serve with fresh somun bread as the first course of a festive meal.

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 3 days.

Reheating

  • Reheat gently; do not boil.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like