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Community Corner

Warming Up with Hot Soup in New Hyde Park

Here's a soup recipe if you're looking for something warm after coming in from the snow.

It’s cold outside and time for delicious hot soup to warm the body and spirit.

I went to to find out what soups New Hyde Park has to offer. There Chef Magdi Motagalli creates four soups every day. The chef is French/Egyptian and he brings that heritage and considerable experience to his delicious soups. There is always chicken vegetable and the day I was there the other three were turkey barley, red lentil and a rich seafood bisque. I was especially eager to taste the lentil soup as it is Motagalli’s mother's recipe. I went home with a quart of the soup to dress up with some linguini and sautéed shallots for dinner that night.

Next came Royal Tangra Masala restaurant. This establishment serves a unique blend of Chinese and Indian food. This cuisine originated in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India, home of the only Chinatown in India. The Chinese of Kolkata are descendants of people who emigrated from China starting in the late 18th century to work at the Calcutta port. A nice feature of the restaurant’s soup menu is that each soup can be made with vegetables only for vegetarians or with chicken or shrimp.

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Owner Kenneth Chen brought out the Manchow soup, one of the most popular soups in Indian-Chinese cuisine. It is a dark brown soup, similar to hot and sour, flavored with soy sauce and ginger and topped with crispy noodles. The coconut soup was flavored with lemongrass and a generous amount of chili paste; a milder choice was the sweet corn soup, chock full of creamed corn.

My last stop was the owned by the Shair family. The soup of the day alternates between chicken and lentil. I arrived on chicken soup day. The soup is made with tomato, onion, carrots and potato and is garnished with lots of fresh cilantro and served with a wedge of lemon.

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Chef Motagalli’s Lentil Soup

Saute celery, carrots, onions and garlic in oil. Add water and lentils and let simmer until the lentils are soft. Blend all and add salt and pepper and garlic and onion powder to taste.

Brown cooked linguine in oil or butter until golden (about seven minutes). Thinly slice shallots and sauté in oil until crisp. Served the soup with the linguine mixed in and the shallots on top.

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