Mulligatawny Soup
A spicy, thick soup made with tomatoes, carrots & apples! Red lentils up the protein and hot & sweet spices balance beautifully with the coconut cream base.
Servings
6
Ready In:
30 min
Calories:
424
Good For:
Main meal
Inroduction
About this Recipe
Mulligatawny is the Anglicized version of the Tamil (a southern Indian Dravidian language) words for “pepper water” or “pepper broth.” It became popular with the British stationed in India (employees of the East India Company) during colonial times, during the late 18th century and later. When they returned home, they brought the recipe back with them to England and to other members of the Commonwealth, especially Australia.
Indian meals are traditionally served all at once, the containers placed in the center of the table, family-style, with everyone digging in and helping themselves to the shared dishes.
During the British rule between 1858 and 1947, when the sun never set on the British Empire, the British colonists and soldiers refused to alter their way of dining, which included a soup course.
Soups weren’t really a thing back then and the cooks would just water down one of the British’s favorite dishes, milagu tannir, which translates to “pepper water” in Tamil, a southern Indian dialect. (One source says the dish was molegoo tunes, a broth drunk by poor Sri Lankans.) The British never seemed to worry about pronouncing things incorrectly, and they garbled the dish until it came out mulligatawny, as it’s known today.
The colonists brought mulligatawny back to Britain, where it’s a staple on pub menus, though the recipe varies widely.
I love the apples in it!
Nutrition
Make this vegan by substituting ghee with a vegan butter or oil with little to no change in macronutrients.
- Fat 51%
- Protein 13%
- Carbohydrates 36%
Equipment
- kadai or balti pan (The word balti means "bucket" in Punjabi and describes the small, flat-bottomed, two-handled wok, in which the food is both cooked and served.). Basically, a flat bottom wok.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Ghee Or coconut oil for a vegan recipe
- 1 Green Chili, seeded and chopped Optional; gives extra heat!
- 1 Carrot Peeled and diced
- 2 tsp Fresh ginger Grated
- 2 sm Apples (I used Gala) Peeled, cored and diced
- 4 medium Tomatoes Approx. 3 cups diced
- 2 tsp Cumin seed
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chili
- 1/2 inch Cinnamon stick
- 1 Bay leaf Use only Indian bay leaf (Cinnamomum tamala)
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 3 Green cardamon pods Lightly crushed
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper Fresh ground
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
- 1/2 cup Red/pink lentils ((Masoor Mogar)
- 3 cups Vegetable broth
- 1 can Coconut cream (400ml/13.5oz)
- 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
- 1/4 cup Raw cashews Dry roasted and chopped; optional for flavorful garnish
- 1/4 cup Dry coconut flakes Dry roasted; optional for flavorful garnish
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a stainless steel kadai pan. Add the diced carrots and sautee/cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes until the carrots are tender. (You can also add the chopped green chili if you want more kick to the recipe. I don't use it.)
- Add the fresh ginger and sautee to mix evenly.
- Add the diced apples and tomatoes and sautee for another 3 minutes or so.
- Add all the spices, mix to coat evenly.
- Add the lentils and mix well. Then add the vegetable broth.
- For the vegetable broth, I use Urban Platter's Vegetable Broth Powder (Iodised Salt, onion, mushroom powder, lactose, sugar, celery, chives, yeast extract powder, cornflower, sunflower oil - so not sattvic but you are using such a small amount. Feel free to use your favorite vegetable broth), mixing with water at about 1 tsp of the powder to one cup of RO water.
- Bring all ingredients to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes.
- Remove the soup from heat and remove the whole spices (green cardamom and cinnamon sticks). Allow to cool. Move about 75% of the chunky soup and puree in a standard table top food blender. You can blend all of the soup to a smooth puree if you would like to. I like to keep a few chunks in the soup for texture.
- Move about 75% of the chunky soup and puree in a standard table top food blender. You can blend all of the soup to a smooth puree if you would like to. I like to keep a few chunks in the soup for texture.
- Return to kadai; add the coconut cream (or coconut milk) and heat if need. Adjust salt and pepper for taste.
- Garnish with a teaspoon of dry roasted cashews and a teaspoon of dry roasted coconut flakes.
Notes
I made this with Arhar Dal instead of the Masoor Dal and it was just fine!
