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    Home » Soups

    Kulajda – Czech Mushroom Soup

    Published: Apr 3, 2021 · Modified: Sep 12, 2022 by Petra Kupská

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    When you smell dill in the Czech Republic, it means either koprová omáčka or kulajda soup are going on the table. Talking about kulajda, it’s a very satisfying hearty soup made from simple basic ingredients.

    Czech kulajda soup
    Table of Contents hide
    ➜ What Is Kulajda
    ➜ Ingredients
    ➜ Instructions with Photos
    ➜ Serving
    ➜ Cook’s Tips
    Kulajda – Czech Mushroom Soup

    ➜ What Is Kulajda

    Kulajda is a Czech mushroom soup containing dill and potatoes, softened with cream. It’s characterized by a typical sweet and sour taste. 

    This dill soup belongs to traditional Czech soups. I highly recommend everyone to try kulajda when visiting Prague or another city in the Czech Republic. 

    Kulajda originates in southern Bohemia (jižní Čechy), a forested region where mushrooms grow in abundance. That’s why this soup is sometimes called “jihočeská kulajda.”

    ➜ Ingredients

    ingredients czech kulajda soup

    The hero ingredient is mushroom in this recipe. Czechs love to pick them. Families have their stocks of dried mushrooms, which are replenished each fall in the mushroom season.

    • Potatoes; use all-purpose potatoes like Yukon Gold
    • Unsalted butter and all-purpose flour for the cooking roux. The ratio between butter and flour should be roughly equal to make a good roux. 
    • Sugar; to sweeten kulajda soup
    • Dried mushrooms; a critical ingredient, if you can, get porcini mushrooms (in Czech “hřiby”) ideally
    • Heavy cream; not a light version
    • Vinegar; any common you have on hand
    • Fresh dill; finely chopped; use the feathery leaves only
    • Black pepper; ground
    • Salt
    • 3 cups beef broth; for soup
    • 2 cups water; for cooking dried mushrooms

    You’ll also need separately boiled eggs. They will be added to the plate with kulajda soup while serving.

    ✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

    ➜ Instructions with Photos

    STEP 1: Throw dried mushrooms in a pot with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside.

    dried mushrooms

    STEP 2: Let’s make a roux, which will thicken the kulajda soup: In a pot with thicker bottom, melt unsalted butter over medium heat. Add all-purpose flour, stir for 1 minute. It will create a bubbling mass. 

    making roux
    making roux

    STEP 3: Start adding beef broth in batches: add ½ cup of broth, stir well. Continue until the broth is used up. This method will prevent you from ending up with lumps in the soup. 

    making kulajda soup

    STEP 4: Add the mushroom broth to the soup, straining the cooked mushrooms. Taste with salt, stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a minimum. Cover with a lid and let it cook for 10 minutes.

    making kulajda soup

    STEP 5: Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut them into ½-inch cubes. Add to the soup together with cooked mushrooms and cook for another 15 minutes until potato cubes soften.

    adding cubed potatoes to kulajda soup
    adding mushrooms to kulajda soup

    STEP 6: Chop fresh dill, don’t use stems, just soft green leaves. 

    STEP 7: Remove soup from the stove, pour in the cream, stir. Add vinegar, sugar, ground pepper, and chopped dill. Do not cook anymore. Mix with a wooden spoon, season to your liking with salt/or sugar if necessary. 

    adding cream to kulajda soup

    STEP 8: Let the kulajda soup sit for 5 minutes and serve.

    kulajda soup

    ➜ Serving

    Serve kulajda warm, and add a halved hard-boiled egg into the soup. If you have some fresh dill left, sprinkle the soup with a few green leaves as a final touch. 

    You don’t need any bread as a side because kulajda is quite filling on its own.

    For a spectacular presentation, use a poached egg instead of a boiled egg. Anyway, you’ll usually get kulajda soup with a boiled egg when ordering it in one of the Prague pubs. 

    Kulajda soup

    ➜ Cook’s Tips

    • Add dill only at the end of cooking to kulajda. Fresh dill loses its flavor and vivid color the longer is cooked.
    • You also can make kulajda from fresh mushrooms. In this case, sear the roughly chopped mushrooms in a pan with fat. Salt and pepper, and add to the soup. Instead of 3 cups of broth, use 5 cups because you don’t need to cook dried mushrooms ahead.

    If you are a fan of mushrooms, try scrambled eggs with mushrooms (Czech smazenice!)

    More Czech soups:

    • Cauliflower soup – květáková polévka
    • Sauerkraut soup – zelňačka
    • Garlic soup – česnečka

    Tried this recipe?

    Leave a review down in the comments! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    Follow me on Facebook and Pinterest. Subscribe to my newsletter. Send me any question about Czech cuisine to my e-mail. I love hearing your feedback!

    kulajda soup recipe

    Kulajda – Czech Mushroom Soup

    Kulajda is a Czech mushroom soup containing dill and potatoes, softened with a cream. It’s characterized by a typical sweet and sour taste.
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Pin
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 475kcal
    Author: Petra Kupská
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: Czech
    Keyword: Dill recipes, mushrooms

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound potatoes (450 g)
    • ⅓ stick butter (40 g) unsalted
    • 4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (40 g)
    • ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 g)
    • 1 handful dried mushrooms e.g. porcini mushrooms
    • ¾ cup heavy cream (180 ml) fat content about 30 %
    • 3 Tablespoon vinegar 5% acidity
    • 3 Tablespoons fresh dill chopped, only leaves, no stems
    • 3 cups beef broth (720 ml) for soup
    • 2 cups water (480 ml) to cook dried mushrooms
    • salt
    • pepper ground
    • 4 hard-boiled eggs

    Instructions

    • Throw dried mushrooms in a pot with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside.
    • Let’s make a roux, which will thicken the kulajda soup: In a pot with thicker bottom, melt unsalted butter over medium heat. Add all-purpose flour, stir for 1 minute. It will create a bubbling mass.
    • Start adding beef broth in batches: add ½ cup of beef broth, stir well. Continue until the broth is used up. This method will prevent you from ending up with lumps in the soup.
    • Add the mushroom broth to the soup, straining the cooked mushrooms. Taste with salt, stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a minimum. Cover with a lid and let it cook for 10 minutes.
    • Meantime, peel potatoes and cut them into ½-inch cubes. Add them to the soup together with cooked mushrooms and cook for another 15 minutes until potato cubes soften.
    • Chop fresh dill, don’t use stems, just soft green leaves.
    • Remove soup from the stove, pour in the cream, stir. Add vinegar, sugar, ground pepper, and chopped dill. Do not cook anymore. Mix with a wooden spoon, season to your liking with salt/or sugar if necessary.
    • Let the kulajda soup sit for 5 minutes and serve.

    Notes

    • Makes 4 yields.
    • Serve kulajda warm, and set a halved hard-boiled egg into the soup. If you have some fresh dill left, sprinkle the soup with a few green leaves as a final touch.
    • Add dill only at the end of cooking to kulajda. Fresh dill loses its flavor and vivid color the longer is cooked.
    • You also can make kulajda from fresh mushrooms. In this case, sear the roughly chopped mushrooms in a pan with fat. Salt and pepper, and add to the soup. Instead of 3 cups of beef broth, use 5 cups because you don’t need to cook dried mushrooms ahead.

    DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:

    Conversion chart

    Nutritional Estimate pro portion

    Calories: 475kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 257mg | Sodium: 818mg | Potassium: 697mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 1177IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 2mg
    Do you like the recipe?I would be happy for your feedback! Please, rate the recipe and share your opinion or questions in comments bellow. Thank you very much.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Anci Drahota Michelsen

      January 22, 2022 at 12:20 pm

      5 stars
      just love your recipe

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        January 24, 2022 at 4:08 am

        Thank you very much 😊

        Reply
        • Teri Wilcox

          November 13, 2022 at 9:09 am

          Mom used to put a noodle type dumpling in it. She made a stiff dough with well beaten egg and flour. Cut small pieces with a spoon and dropped them in to cook

          Reply
          • Petra Kupská

            November 16, 2022 at 9:42 am

            Yes, this kind of dumpling is very common (and tasty) in Czech cuisine!

            Reply
    2. Nicole

      February 13, 2022 at 9:24 pm

      5 stars
      This is my favorite soup when I visit the Czech Republic and your recipe is absolutely delicious! I'm so happy to be able to make it at home in the US 🙂 Thank you for another authentic Czech recipe!

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        February 15, 2022 at 1:06 am

        Ahoj Nicole, thank you for your nice words! Kulajda soup has a very specific taste, it mixes sweetness and saltiness, mushrooms and dill. However, this combination is very tasty as a result. And I'm glad you enjoyed it too 🙂

        Reply
    3. Zion

      February 19, 2022 at 9:44 am

      5 stars
      Thank you so much!!!!
      We just made this as part of an international cooking challenge where we make a different recipe from a different country every week.
      We're just beginning at cooking, but your recipe was easy to follow and really came out great. The kulajda was definitely filling and tasted very good. Makes me want to visit the Czech republic again.

      We also really enjoyed reading your story for how this site was created.
      Thank you again!

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        February 19, 2022 at 5:17 pm

        Oh, thank you so much for your nice words and useful feedback! I am happy to hear that you enjoyed the soup 🙂

        Reply
    4. Kathy

      November 13, 2022 at 3:50 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely wonderful! Thank you for your wonderful recipes…

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        November 16, 2022 at 9:41 am

        I thank you for your nice comment!

        Reply
    5. Peggy Beckwith

      November 26, 2022 at 12:52 pm

      5 stars
      I lived in Praha for about 4 years and loved every minute of the country, the people, and the food. It must be the best place with the best character of people in the world.your recipe just transported me to heaven briefly. I only wish I could find a place to buy rohliki, my very favorite Czech food. God bless and keep you, dear Petra and all your loved ones, too.
      Peggy Beckwith

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        November 28, 2022 at 3:24 am

        Ahoj Peggy, thank you very much for your nice words! I love Prague too, I'm going there next week to soak in some Christmas atmosphere. If I could, I'd love to send you some of its vibes!

        Reply
    6. Jessica

      December 25, 2022 at 12:52 am

      5 stars
      I am so thankful for your blog! My husband and I visited Prague a few years ago, and this soup was one of our favorites. I have looked and looked for a recipe since then, and am delighted to have found this one! Thank You! I made the recipe exactly as directed and it was delicious.

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        December 29, 2022 at 9:05 am

        Aww, thank you for your nice words, Jessica! 🙂

        Reply

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    Hi there, I’m Petra, a self-taught home cook and a Czech mom of two teen boys with more than 20 years of cooking experience. I am here to share traditional recipes from the Czech Republic, a small country in the very heart of Europe.

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    Hi there, I’m Petra, a self-taught home cook and a Czech mom of two teen boys with more than 20 years of cooking experience. I am here to share traditional recipes from the Czech Republic, a small country in the very heart of Europe.

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