Mulligatawny soup. Savoury lentils. Chicken. Indian spices. Ginger. Garlic. And lemon. How can you go wrong?
Make this when you want something different. Comforting. Deeply satisfying. And so tasty. If you like dal, you are going to love mulligatawny soup.
It can be what’s for dinner. With a paratha or naan. Little green salad on the side. It’s that satisfying. Soup that eats like a meal.
Leave the chicken out and you have a nice “cream of” style soup without the cream. Very posh. Perfect for a dinner party. Just keep the portions small.
Or go with vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, leave out the garnish and it’s vegan. It’s gluten free too. Lentils are environmentally friendly.
Healthy. Good for the planet. Sometimes delicious can be good for you. It happens. It’s rare. But it happens. This is one of those times. I love these times.
Mulligatawny soup – English or Indian?
Mulligatawny soup comes from Colonial India. Time of the British Raj. Back in the late 1800s. It’s an English recipe really.
Roots in Indian cooking for sure. But British. It’s like a tame sambar. Or a pureed rasam. A western take on Indian flavours. East meets west. Kipling stands corrected…
Depending on who you believe it is named for the Tamil words for pepper and water. This recipe does have a good amount of black pepper in it.
Roll back on it if you’re not a big pepper fan. Use a bit of white pepper instead if you are doing this for a dinner party. No little black flecks that way.
Or embrace those black flecks. Feature them. That’s what I do. It’s pepper water. It should have pepper. I think anyway.
Pepper water. It’s funny. This has nothing to do with pepper water. And everything to do with bold flavours and creamy texture. Have I mentioned I love mulligatawny soup?
Mulligatawny soup is lentil soup
This is a creamy lentil soup without the cream. Masoor dal or red split lentils to be exact. Great thing about masoor dal. Cook it long enough and it disintegrates. Just perfect for soup.
Like any pureed lentil soup it has good body. Texture. Mouthfeel. The spice mix adds a warming heat. The lemon brings a bit of acidity to cut through it all. Wakes every thing up nicely.
I’ve seen a lot of mulligatawny recipes out there that have a ton of stuff in them. Vegetables. Rice. Coconut milk. Like a stew really. Or a vegetable curry.
I’ve even seen recipes without lentils. That just makes no sense to me. Just strange. I can see the coconut milk. Maybe. I might try that some time.
Mulligatawny over rice. Makes sense. But rice and no lentils? Not for me. You might disagree. I’m good with that. But give this version a try before you write me off…
Make it ahead of time
The great thing about mulligatawny soup is it reheats really well. It’s a lentil dish so there’s nothing to get overcooked really.
You can just warm it up gently before you serve. If you are adding cream do that after you warm it up. It’s bullet proof. Perfect for dinner parties.
Makes a great lunch too. Something to bring to work. It’s even microwave friendly.
And it’s a snap to make. Cook some lentils and potatoes in stock. Puree it. A blender works best.
Fry up some spices with some garlic ginger paste. Cook the chicken. It’s cut into small pieces so that takes no time. Toss it all together. Add a bit of fresh lemon juice to brighten things up and serve. This is really dead easy.
This recipe is loosely based on a recipe in Madhur Jaffrey’s Illustrated Indian Cookery. I don’t usually do tribute recipes. Try to stick to my own stuff.
But we are talking about Madhur here. And I owe her. Lots of people owe her.
She started me off. My very first Indian cookbook. Should have paid more attention to what my parents were cooking.
Whether it’s Indian or English, mulligatawny soup is a great addition to any menu. Try it.
If you like lentils. And you like Indian flavours. Then you are just going to love this. I know I do. Seriously good.
mulligatawny soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups red split lentils – also known as masoor dahl
- 8 cups low or no-sodium chicken stock
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 8 oz potatoes cubed in 1/2 inch dice (see note).
- 4 Tbsp garlic/ginger paste – recipe link below
- 3 kashmiri chilies – optional
- 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Juice of a lemon
- 1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or boneless skinless chicken breasts if you prefer. I like thighs for this.
Spice Mix
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp mild kashmiri chili powder or 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp course ground black pepper or 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 2 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
Instructions
Prepare the lentils
- Combine lentils, chicken stock and turmeric. Bring to a simmer. Then cover. That's important. Lentils boil over. Big mess. Cook, covered for 30 minutes.
- Add potatoes. Simmer another 30 minutes.
- Let the soup cool a bit. Then puree the lentil mixture in batches. Your blender works best. Return soup to pot. Be careful here. Make sure you are set up to release steam. You don't want to get burned. That would suck.
Make the mulligatawny soup
- Trim visible fat from the chicken. Cut into 1/3 inch chunks. Little bites really.
- Add the oil to a clean frying pan. Heat over medium heat.
- Pay attention at this point. Add the garlic ginger paste and fry, stirring constantly until the splattering stops.
- Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the spice mix and continue to stir constantly for another 30 seconds. Regulate your heat. Don't let the spices burn! You are blooming spices here. This is where the magic happens.
- Toss in the whole kashmiri chilies. Cook them around 15 seconds. Flip them. Cook another 15 seconds or so.
- Turn the heat back up to medium. Add the chicken and continue to stir. Cook chicken until almost done – about 3 minutes. Stir the whole time. It may take a little longer. I don't know your stove or your pan so it's a little hard to be precise.
- Transfer the chicken mixture to soup pot and stir it in. Simmer 3 minutes. Add lemon juice. Let it simmer another 2 minutes.
- It will probably be too thick at this point. Thin it out with some stock. You want a texture somewhere around a full-bodied cream of soup.
- Adjust seasoning (salt) to taste. To my taste another teaspoon or a bit more works. But everyone is different. Creep up on it. You can always add more salt. That's easy. Taking it away is pretty much impossible.
- Serve with a spoonful of raita or drizzle with a bit of heavy cream.
Notes
Nutrition
