Milk Street Cookbook Club

Gundi

Name: Gundi
Yield: 6 Servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons rendered chicken fat or vegetable oil; 1 yellow onion, cut into 5 mm (¼ in) cubes; 2 teaspoons cumin seeds; 2 teaspoons coriander seeds; 2 teaspoons caraway seeds; 450 g (1 lb) ground (minced) chicken thighs; 110 g (4 oz/1 cup) chickpea flour; 2 teaspoons ground turmeric; 1½ teaspoons baking soda; 1 tablespoon salt; 2-3 tablespoons cool water; 2 tablespoons rendered chicken fat or vegetable oil; 2 yellow onions, cut into 1 cm (½ in) cubes; 3 carrots, cut into 1 cm (½ in) cubes; 4 garlic cloves, crushed; 2 bay leaves; 1.9 liters (64 fl oz/8 cups) Chicken Stock; 1 tablespoon salt

6 Servings

"At first bite of this wonderful soup, the flavors of gundi are reminiscent of falafel. All of the rich, warm spices we are familiar with, in a rustic and simple broth. Gundi is to Iranian Jews what the matzo ball is to Eastern European Jews. Sometimes made with chickpeas, this recipe uses chickpea flour. Some versions include small potatoes cut in half and poached in the broth. Although the recipe hails from Iran, most Persian Jews live in Israel now and Israel is where the soup lives on." — Jenn Louis

Recipes excerpted with permission The Chicken Soup Manifesto by Jenn Louis, published by Hardie Grant Books September 2020, RRP $29.99 Hardcover.

2

tablespoons rendered chicken fat or vegetable oil

Directions

01

For the meatballs, melt the chicken fat in a large sauté or frying pan over high heat. Add the onions and gently cook for 3–6 minutes until tender and caramelized. Leave to cool completely.

Reviews

Edmond F.

How many meatballs does the recipe make?

Lynn C.

Hi Edmond -

Since this is not a recipe that was developed by Milk Street - it's a recipe from The Chicken Soup Manifesto by Jenn Louis, which was featured as part of our cookbook club - we can't say for sure. The recipe doesn't provide a yield, but based on the amount of the meat and the size of the meatballs, I would wager a guess it will be around 20 meatballs. Hope that helps!

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Linda R W.

The recipe says to mix the onions with the spices and the chick pea flour for the meat balls and then later it says to cook the onions in the pot with the carrots and garlic for the soup. But onion is listed just one time in the ingredients and does not say to split the onion. What is supposed to be done with the onion?

Lynn C.

Hi Linda -

You'll notice there are two separate ingredient lists - one for the meatballs and one for the soup. One onion is listed under the ingredients for the meatballs and is cooked and added to the meatball mixture once cooled. Two onions are listed under the ingredients for the soup and are cooked and added to the soup base. Hope that clears it up!

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Gundi

For the Meatballs

Directions

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Gundi

For the Meatballs

Directions

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