Meatballs with carrot slices in soup Alex, since there is only one response and this one is not satisfying, I figured out something for fun. I learnt this from my roommate in college. It is very simply and you don't find it in any of the fashionable restaurants. But it is old-fashioned as you require. And it is delicious at that.

Buy a pound of minced meat in a supermarket. Add salt, ginger powder, sliced onion, a little flour, and two spoonfuls of water. Stir the thing vigorously for two minutes. Boil a pot of water. Make a dozen meatballs out of the mixture you've prepared. Put the balls into boiling water. When the water boils again, add sliced carrot. Add salt and pepper to your taste. The soup is ready to serve.

Homemade and crude as it is, you never forget the taste!