Mulligatawny Soup

A fragrant South Indian soup recipe, spiced with curry and lots of fresh ginger

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Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 30

Course: lunch, Soup

Cuisine: South Indian

Keyword: coconut milk, comfort food, curry, Fall and winter soups, red lentils, spicy soups

Servings: cups

Calories: 268kcal

Ingredients

3 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
1 stalk celery diced
1 small red chili finely diced
1 onion peeled and diced
1 carrot peeled and diced
1 thin skinned potato diced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp fresh ginger grated
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp curry powder
¼ tsp cayenne
400 grams boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breast
2 tbsp lemon juice
8 litres vegetable or chicken stock
200 grams red lentils
100 grams basmati rice
250 ml coconut milk
1 handful fresh coriander (optional), plus more for garnish

Instructions

Rinse the rice in cool water 2-3 times to remove excess starch. Place the rice in a pot with 350 ml of water, cover and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let stand while you prepare the soup.
Using a mortar and pestle, or in a bowl with the back of a spoon, mash together the ginger and garlic to form a paste.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil or ghee in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. add the garlic/ginger paste, cumin, coriander, curry powder and cayenne. cook, stirring continuously for 2 minutes.
Note: if making a vegetarian version of the soup omit the next step with the chicken and proceed to step 5 and add the diced onion directly to the spice mixture.
Add the chicken pieces and stir until the chicken is coated with the spice mixture. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the chicken pieces become opaque.
Add 200 ml of water and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer until chicken is fully cooked, about 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken and liquid from the pot to a bowl and set aside.
Return the pot to the heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil or ghee. Add the diced onion and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent, about 2- 3 minutes.
Add the turmeric, diced chili, lentils, carrot, celery and potato and stir to mix well. Add the stock, turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the lentils and vegetables are soft, about 10 - 15 minutes.
Reserve 200 ml of the soup. Working in batches, purée the rest of the soup until smooth.
Return the puréed soup along with the reserved amount to the pot. Add the cooked rice, lemon juice and the chicken with it’s liquid.
Bring the soup back to a boil. Reduce the heat to med. low, add the coconut milk and stir well to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh coriander.

Nutrition

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