Mulligatawny

by RogerJanuary 10, 2023

Fragrant, warm and spicy, luscious and creamy; It’s everything you want in a bowl on a cool, damp winter evening. Raid your pantry and you can have this British take on Indian comfort food on your table in under an hour. On today’s episode we’ll cook Mulligatawny.

The origin of Mulligatawny is not completely clear, but it is most certainly from South India. What is clear is that it has become a beloved dish in Britain and beyond. With hundreds of variations ranging between vegan and meat-full, you are sure to find a version that suits you. My take on Mulligatawny soup is made of mostly pantry ingredients and can come together in less than an hour. I highly recommend you don’t skip the blending, as in my opinion it takes the soup from good to great.

Mentioned in this Episode

Looking for other Mulligatawny versions? There are many out there, as a quick Google search will attest. This one from Allrecipes is a bit more simple than mine (no blending required). This one from Wanderlust Kitchen features red lentils (and quite a few more spices) for a vegan take on the dish.

Eliza Acton’s classic book on British Cookery “Modern Cookery for Private Families” has a mulligatawny recipe from the mid-19th century. Note you can also get this book on Kindle for much less!

I mentioned Dorot Gardens frozen ginger and garlic. If you want to make sure you always have some high quality ginger and garlic on hand, you could do a lot worse than having a couple of these packs in your freezer.

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Mulligatawny Soup

Author: Roger
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x

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Description

Fragrant, warm and spicy, luscious and creamy; It’s everything you want in a bowl on a cool, damp winter evening. Raid your pantry and you can have this British take on Indian comfort food on your table in under an hour.

Ingredients

Scale

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons of grated ginger
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 1/2 Tablespoons of yellow curry powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup long grain white rice
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and diced

Instructions

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrot. Cook until just softened, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, apple, diced tomatoes, spices and stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Working in batches, transfer soup to blender and blend until smooth. Return to saucepan.
Bring soup back to a simmer over medium heat. Add rice, cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent rice from sticking to pot.
Stir in coconut milk and chicken until heated through. Taste and add salt if needed. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

You can also use an immersion blender to blend the soup. If you opt to not blend at all, be sure to dice your vegetables to a consistent size to ensure even cooking and pleasant eating experience.

The curry powder is important for this recipe. I prefer a mild yellow curry powder, but you could use a hotter variety if you want more heat in your soup.