RoughChop Logo
Suggestions
🖨️

Sopa De Gallina India

Chop Rating
chopchopchopchopchop
Sign in to review
Not yet rated
soups•central american•contains poultry, gluten-free, dairy-free
2 hours 30 minutes•6 servings•

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds gallina india (stewing hen) – cut into serving pieces, excess fat trimmed
  • 16 cups water
  • 1 large white onion – halved
  • 6 cloves garlic – smashed
  • 8 sprigs cilantro stems – tied in a bundle
  • 6 sprigs fresh mint sprigs – left whole
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns – whole
  • 2 medium carrots – peeled and cut into 0.5 inch rounds
  • 2 ears corn on the cob – cut into 1.5 inch rounds
  • 2 medium chayote – peeled, cored, and cut into wedges
  • 2 medium russet potatoes – peeled and cut into 1.5 inch chunks
  • 1 medium zucchini – cut into 1 inch chunks
  • 1/2 cups cilantro leaves – chopped
  • 1/4 cups mint leaves – chopped
  • lime – cut into wedges (for serving)
  • corn tortillas – warmed (for serving)
  • cooked white rice – for serving
Sopa de gallina india

Instructions

1. Rinse the gallina india pieces and pat dry. Halve the onion, smash the garlic, and tie the cilantro stems into a small bundle.

2. Place the hen, water, onion, garlic, cilantro stems, mint sprigs, kosher salt, and black peppercorns in a large heavy pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

3. Skim off foam as it rises, 10–15 minutes. Reduce to a gentle simmer, partially cover, and cook until the hen is very tender and pulls from the bone, 1.5–2 hours, adding hot water as needed to keep the meat submerged.

4. Remove and discard the onion halves, garlic, cilantro stems, and mint sprigs. Taste the broth and adjust seasoning.

5. Add the carrots and corn rounds to the pot and simmer until starting to soften, 10–12 minutes.

6. Add the potatoes and chayote and continue simmering until the vegetables are tender, 12–15 minutes.

7. Stir in the zucchini and simmer until just tender, 5–7 minutes.

8. Add the chopped cilantro leaves and mint leaves and simmer 1–2 minutes more. Season to taste with additional salt if needed.

9. Ladle broth, a piece of hen, and a mix of vegetables into warm bowls. Serve hot with lime wedges, warm corn tortillas, and cooked white rice on the side.

Sopa de gallina india is a deeply comforting Central American hen soup built on a clear, aromatic broth and generous seasonal vegetables. The free-range hen yields a richer, more complex flavor than young chicken, and the long, gentle simmer gives the soup body without cloudiness. Fresh herbs like cilantro and hierbabuena (mint) perfume the pot, while chayote, corn, carrot, potato, and squash bring sweetness and soft textures that make the broth satisfying yet light.

Across the region, this soup is prized as both celebratory fare and restorative food, often served on weekends at countryside comedores and in family kitchens. The term gallina india refers to native or creole hens raised outdoors, a tradition tied to rural life in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and neighboring countries. Variations abound from town to town, but most keep the broth clear, the vegetables cut in hearty pieces, and the herbs bright, with tortillas and rice alongside to complete the meal.