Kulajda – dill, mushrooms and a poached egg: South Bohemia in a bowl 🍄

Kulajda divides the world into two groups: people who grew up with it and order it the second they see it on a menu – and people who have never heard of it and cannot imagine that dill, mushrooms, sour cream and a poached egg belong in one pot. They do. Gloriously.

This creamy soup from South Bohemia is autumn in edible form: mushrooms from the forest, potatoes from the cellar, dill and cream to soften it, a splash of vinegar to wake it up. And on top, a poached egg – the crown that makes a soup feel like a whole dinner.

Ingredients (4 servings)

400 g potatoes, diced
a handful of dried forest mushrooms (or fresh in season)
400 ml sour cream + 2 tbsp flour
a big bunch of fresh or dry dill
vinegar, salt, whole caraway, bay leaf
4 eggs for poaching

Method

1. Simmer the potatoes with mushrooms, caraway and bay leaf in about 1 l of water until soft.

2. Whisk the sour cream with flour, stir it in, and let the soup gently bubble for a few minutes.

3. Season with salt, a careful splash of vinegar, and fold in the chopped dill – kulajda should taste creamy first, gently sour second.

4. Poach the eggs in barely simmering water with a drop of vinegar, and slide one into each bowl.

Quick tips

Dill goes in at the end – boiled too long, it loses its magic.
No dried mushrooms at home? A few fresh ones fried beforehand work too.
The vinegar is a seasoning, not a flood. Add, taste, repeat.

The cupboard cousin

Craving a creamy Czech soup on a Tuesday at 9 pm is a real condition. The closest cupboard cousin of kulajda that is always within reach: Vitana Traditional Potato Soup with Mushrooms – mushroomy, comforting and ready in minutes while you practise your poached eggs.