Bosnian Chicken Soup - Bey's Soup [Easy Instant Pot and Stove Top]

Traditionally served on holidays and festivities, this Bosnian Chicken Soup (Bey's chowder) aka Begova corba is easy to cook on the stovetop or Instant Pot and makes a nutritious dish any ordinary day.

Slow-cooked chicken, carrots, celery, potato, and okra boil into a creamy bisque, often served as a warm first course.

Ordinarily, Bey's chowder is thickened with egg and sour cream, but I have an aversion to eggs in soups unless they're already hard-boiled as in this Polish white borscht. Hence, you won't see me slurping on egg drop soup. Yuck. 🤢

Another option is to thicken it with a light roux or rice. In this recipe, its creaminess comes from cooked potato and carrot that are then pureed. In each version, okra is a staple ingredient, as well as sour cream.

📃 Why it Works

1. It is easy to make.
2. It nourishes.
3. You can make it in the Instant Pot, slow cooker, or on the stovetop.
4. The ingredients for the Begove corba are affordable and straightforward.
5. It's delicious and kid-approved.
6. This Bosnian chicken soup is excellent as an appetizer or a main dish.

🛒 Ingredients and Notes

These are the simple ingredients you'll need to make this nourishing dish:

• Chicken
• Potato
• Carrots
• Celery
• Onion
• Garlic
• Okra
• Sour Cream
• Lemon Juice
• Parsley
• Bay Leaf
• Water or chicken stock

What is Bey?

Bey (Beg in Bosnian) is a title applied to the leaders or rulers of various districts or provinces in the Ottoman Empire. Bosnia, among other countries, was under the Ottoman Empire for over 400 years.

At that time, these now simple ingredients weren't readily available to common folk and peasants. In short, the soup was fit for a King or Bey.

To this day, we use the term "like a Bey" somewhat in the same capacity as the term "like a boss" is used here.

🔪 Instructions

Both techniques are similar, and the only difference is the cooking time. *Detailed instructions in the recipe card below.

Instant Pot

1. To the inner pot, add the oil and layer chicken, potato, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns, and salt. Pour in water and close and lock the lid. Select the "Soup/Broth" to 25 minutes.
2. Strain the broth, mash half the vegetables, shred the chicken, chop the other half of the vegetables and return it all to the pot.
3. Add okra and turn the pot to "Sauté." Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream and serve immediately.

Stove Top

1. To the Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil and layer chicken, potato, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns, and salt. Pour in water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the temperature and cook for 1 hour.
2. Strain the broth, mash half the vegetables, shred the chicken, chop the other half of the vegetables and return it all to the pot.
3. Add okra and cook 15 minutes longer. Whisk in the sour cream and serve immediately.

• Use frozen, small whole okra pods. If you can't find frozen, you can use fresh or dried okra, however, to reduce its sliminess, soak the okra in vinegar for half an hour or boil in water with a teaspoon of lemon juice. Rinse the okra in cold water before adding it to the pot. If the okra pods are large, cut the stems and slice the pods into ½-inch pieces.
• Skin-on and bone-in chicken make the soup more flavorful. However, I prefer boneless and skinless for easier preparation. That being said, plain chicken breast is not suited for use in this recipe.
• If drops of liquid or foam start to emerge from the pressure release valve on the Instant Pot, simply switch the valve back to the "Sealed" position and use an "Intermittent Pressure Release."
• To thicken the soup using the egg method, omit the potato and mix the whole egg or two egg yolks with sour cream and stir into the soup during the last five minutes of cooking.
• To thicken with a roux, melt two tablespoons butter in a small pan and add one tablespoon all-purpose flour. Stir until the flour begins to "sweat" then add it to the soup; simmer for 10 minutes or until it thickens.
• Serve the soup with crusty bread.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Make it a meal:

If you're struggling to piece a meal together that the family will enjoy, try this simple system to get your weekly meals planned out. It saves so much time and stress!

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Instant Pot and Stove Top Bosnian Chicken (Bey's) Soup

By Jas

This creamy, nourishing soup, made with chicken and vegetables including okra is fit for a king and easy to make on the stovetop, Instant Pot or slow cooker.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine Bosnian

Yields 4 servings

Calories 418 kcal

EQUIPMENT

• Instant Pot
• Immersion blender or food processor

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US Customary - Metric

• ▢ 1 pound chicken thighs , boneless, skinless
• ▢ 2 tablespoons oil
• ▢ 2 small potatoes, quartered
• ▢ 1 large carrot, cut into half
• ▢ 2 celery stalks or one small celery root
• ▢ 1 onion, halved
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves
• ▢ 1 bunch fresh parsley leaves
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ ½ tablespoon black peppercorns
• ▢ ½ tablespoon salt or Vegeta
• ▢ ⅓ cup frozen okra
• ▢ 3 tablespoons sour cream

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Instant Pot

• To the inner pot of your pressure cooker, add 2 tablespoons oil. Layer 1 pound chicken thighs, 2 small quartered potatoes, 1 large carrot (halved), 2 celery stalks, 1 halved onion, 2 garlic cloves, a bunch of parsley leaves, 1 bay leaf, ½ tablespoons black peppercorns, and ½ tablespoon salt or Vegeta. Pour in enough water (or chicken stock) to cover by 1-2 inches and close and lock the lid. Select the "Soup/Broth" or "Manual" and set the timer (+/- button) to 25 minutes.
• Open the lid using quick-release: turn the steam release handle on the lid from "Sealing" to the "Venting" position.
• Strain the broth. Puree half of the vegetables using an immersion blender, food processor or a potato masher/ricer. Shred or cut the cooked chicken and chop the carrots and potatoes into small pieces and return to the pot.
• Add frozen okra and turn the pot to "Sauté." Cook for 10-15 minutes longer or until okra is cooked through; adjust the seasoning. Whisk in the sour cream and serve the soup immediately, garnished with chopped parsley.

Stove Top

• To the Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil and layer chicken, potato, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns, and salt or Vegeta. Pour in water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the temperature and cook the soup for 1 hour. 
• Strain the broth. Puree half of the vegetables using an immersion blender, food processor or a potato masher/ricer. Shred or cut the cooked chicken and chop the carrots and potatoes into small pieces and return to the pot.
• Add frozen okra and cook for 10-15 minutes longer or until okra is cooked through; adjust the seasoning. Whisk in the sour cream and serve the soup immediately, garnished with chopped parsley.

Notes

• Use frozen, small whole okra pods. If you can't find frozen, you can use fresh or dried okra, however, to reduce its sliminess, soak the okra in vinegar for half an hour or boil in water with a teaspoon of lemon juice. Rinse the okra in cold water before adding it to the pot. If the okra pods are large, cut the stems and slice the pods into ½-inch pieces.
• Skin-on and bone-in chicken make the soup more flavorful. However, I prefer boneless and skinless for easier preparation. That being said, plain chicken breast is not suited for use in this recipe.
• If drops of liquid or foam start to emerge from the pressure release valve on the Instant Pot, simply switch the valve back to the "Sealed" position and use an "Intermittent Pressure Release."
• To thicken the soup using the egg method, omit the potato and mix the whole egg or two egg yolks with sour cream and stir into the soup during the last five minutes of cooking.
• To thicken with a roux, melt two tablespoons butter in a small pan and add one tablespoon all-purpose flour. Stir until the flour begins to "sweat" then add it to the soup; simmer for 10 minutes or until it thickens.
• Serve the soup with crusty bread.
• Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 418kcal (21%) | Carbohydrates: 20g (7%) | Protein: 22g (44%) | Fat: 27g (42%) | Saturated Fat: 6g (30%) | Cholesterol: 115mg (38%) | Sodium: 991mg (41%) | Potassium: 832mg (24%) | Fiber: 4g (16%) | Sugar: 2g (2%) | Vitamin A: 2765IU (55%) | Vitamin C: 17.5mg (21%) | Calcium: 83mg (8%) | Iron: 4.6mg (26%)

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