Mulligatawny Soup

By Sarah DiGregorio

Updated Feb. 4, 2022

Mulligatawny Soup
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
50 minutes
Rating
4(2,108)
Comments
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This soup is a British-Indian cuisine hybrid, the result of colonizers’ encounters with rasam — a spiced, soupy dish often enriched with lentils, sometimes served over rice — from Tamil Nadu, a region in southern India. “Milagu tannir,” which means pepper water, was how Tamil people described some versions of rasam; it morphed into mulligatawny when the British made it thick, chunky and meaty. In the cookbook “Classic Indian Cooking,” the author Julie Sahni wrote that she fell in love with mulligatawny when she first encountered it in Germany. “The present version bears no resemblance whatever to the traditional rasam,” she said, adding, “Because of its unorthodox origin, Indian cooks have had a field day exercising their creative genius with it.” This version is thickened with a roux, masoor dal and coconut milk, and bolstered with chicken thighs and tart apple. Curry powder is not a traditional Indian ingredient, but it reflects the dish’s British influence.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings 
  • ¼cup vegetable oil
  • 1red or yellow onion, minced 
  • Salt 
  • 8garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
  • 2tablespoons minced ginger (from about 2 inches of peeled ginger root)
  • 2teaspoons black or brown mustard seeds
  • 1teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1teaspoon curry powder
  • ½teaspoon ground cayenne, plus more to taste
  • ½teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 2celery stalks, sliced
  • 1large apple, preferably Granny Smith, peeled, cored and chopped
  • 2tablespoons tomato paste
  • 3tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks
  • 1cup masoor dal (split red lentils)
  • 6cups chicken broth or stock
  • 1(14-ounce) can coconut milk 
  • Juice of 1 lime (about 1½ tablespoons)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

573 calories; 30 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 32 grams protein; 1226 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Warm the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and shrunken, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring, until fragrant and softened, about 2 minutes. Add the mustard seeds, turmeric, curry powder, cayenne and cumin seeds, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mustard seeds pop and sizzle, about 90 seconds. Add the carrot, celery and apple, and cook, stirring, until just starting to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then the flour, and cook, stirring well, to uniformly coat all the ingredients, about 2 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Add the chicken, masoor dal and chicken broth. Season lightly with salt. Bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up any browned bits sticking to the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.

  3. Step 3

    Cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes, then uncover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the chicken and carrots are tender, the soup is creamy, and the flavors have blended.

  4. Step 4

    Stir in the coconut milk and squeeze in the lime juice. Serve in bowls topped with a dusting of cayenne, if desired.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
2,108 user ratings
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Comments

David

The Soup Nazi's best recipe, until Elaine ruined everything!

Feroza

Here is a recipe from my friend Kavita Naik—a bit in Indian English In an utensil boil 3-4 whole tomatoes , boil 10-15 min, once cooked smashed them n strain to discard skins. Crush some garlic pods, cumin seeds, pepper corns Take a pot, add oil, once heated sautee mustard seeds, asofetida curry leaves, dried red chilled, turmeric and the above crushed garlic and cumins, pour the tomato sauce, heat, boil add, say 1/2 cup rice, and a mix or vegetables, until cooked, but keep spicy.

tikcuf

any suggestions on a vegetarian/vegan version of this?

Eryn S.

This is one of the best things I have *ever* eaten! The flavours are complex and well-balanced, with tender veggies and meat. I didn’t love the idea of dropping raw chicken into the broth so I started by sautéing it in oil until seared, then removed and followed the recipe as written. I recommend having the carrots, celery and apple prepped before starting the onions as things get moving very quickly once they have cooked.

Kate from Chicago

Really yummy!

CB

Life-affirming. Popped mustard and cumin seeds first, in TBSP oil in the Dutch oven. Then followed recipe steps exactly. Used Bob’s Red Mill red lentils and chicken breast because we had them on hand. Fabulous.

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