Ingredients
Broth
- 400 gmutton or beef on the bone
- 1.5 litreswater
- 1onion, chopped
- 1carrot, diced, optional
- 1potato, diced, optional
- salt and black pepper
Flour crumbs
- 150 gplain flour
- about 4 tbsp cold water
To finish
- chopped spring onion or wild garlic
- more black pepper
To serve
- very hot, to anyone unwell or hungover
Directions
- Put the flour in a wide bowl and sprinkle water over it a very little at a time. Add the water in the smallest sprinkles, a teaspoon at a time, rather than pouring it. Rub the flour between your palms and fingertips constantly as you add the water. The mixture should look like damp flour with crumbs through it, and there should still be dry flour visible.
- Rub it through a coarse sieve to break up anything too large and to catch the crumbs of the right size. That sifting is what gives the even, fine texture, and it is worth the extra minute.
- Simmer the mutton on the bone with the onion for twenty to thirty minutes. Keep it at a gentle simmer and skim the surface as scum rises. The broth should be clear and clean-tasting rather than heavy, since this is food for someone with no appetite.
- Add diced carrot and potato if you want a more substantial version, which is common. Season the broth well with salt and plenty of black pepper before the flour goes in.
- Season it properly at this stage, since the flour crumbs absorb and mute the seasoning considerably. Bring the broth to a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil. Scatter them rather than tipping them in, so they land separately and do not clump together. Stir the broth gently and continuously with the other hand as you sprinkle. This genuinely needs both hands, and it is worth having someone else stir.
- Simmer for five to eight minutes after all the crumbs are in. That time cooks the raw flour taste out, which is otherwise noticeable and unpleasant. Stir occasionally so the crumbs do not settle and stick to the base. It should be a thin soup with crumbs suspended through it, not a thick porridge.
- Add hot water or broth to loosen it. Now the quantity of flour, which needs restraint. Use less flour than seems right, since the crumbs swell noticeably. It is easier to add more crumbs to a thin bantan than to rescue a stodgy one.
- Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Scatter chopped spring onion or wild garlic over. Serve it very hot in a bowl or a mug. It does not keep well, since the flour keeps absorbing, so make what will be eaten.
Technique
- The flour is rubbed into small crumbs rather than mixed into a slurry.
- Scatter the crumbs from a height while stirring so they stay separate.
- It should stay a thin soup rather than becoming a porridge.
Substitutions
- Beef in place of mutton, though mutton is traditional.
- A good stock if you are not simmering meat.
Variations
- With potato and carrot, for a fuller version.
- Made with milk instead of broth, as a sweet version.
- With an egg beaten in at the end.
History
A convalescent food: flour is rubbed between the palms into crumbs and stirred into mutton stock, making an easily digested broth.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bantan?
Bantan is a soup & stew from Mongolia: thin gruel of flour rubbed into meat broth, given to the sick and hungover. A convalescent food: flour is rubbed between the palms into crumbs and stirred into mutton stock, making an easily digested broth.
How long does Bantan take to make?
Bantan takes 10 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Bantan?
Yes, within limits. Beef in place of mutton, though mutton is traditional. A good stock if you are not simmering meat.
What is the most important thing to get right in Bantan?
Put the flour in a wide bowl and sprinkle water over it a very little at a time. Add the water in the smallest sprinkles, a teaspoon at a time, rather than pouring it. Rub the flour between your palms and fingertips constantly as you add the water. The mixture should look like damp flour with crumbs through it, and there should still be dry flour visible.
