A Month of Soups: Mulligatawny Soup

I love the unexpected in soups. The apple in this one is very nice. This is, at essence, at chicken and rice soup with exotic flavors from spices. According to Wikipedia, “mulligatawny” is an Anglo-Indian soup whose name comes from the spices included; it means “pepper water”. But who would ever eat “Pepper Water Soup”? “Muligatawny” just sounds cooler!

The word also is that this is not really an Indian soup, but rather, the English modified a spicy lentil and pea soup to create this. Some versions of the recipe include rice, some include lentils, some have both. Feel free to adapt my recipe to fit your tastes. I certainly do all the time. Count how many times I add a cinnamon stick to layer the flavors! And there’s always garlic. The spices give an oriental flair to this soup.

You can buy coconut milk canned. But, it is easy to make your own. Go to http://www.soupsong.com/rchickn5.html and you’ll find a quick and easy recipe that works well in this soup and other dishes requiring coconut milk.

Mulligatawny Soup (serves 8)

2 T olive oil

1 large onion, diced

1 leek, diced

2 large carrots, cut into coins

2 ribs celery, cut into bite-size chunks

2 tart apples, skin-on, diced

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 large knob of fresh ginger, grated (or 1 T ginger powder)

3# chicken pieces, skin-on; all thighs and legs, or add in a breast half.

8 c chicken and/or turkey broth, divided

2 bay leaves

1 T garam masala

2 T curry powder

1 cinnamon stick

1 T whole cloves

1 T turmeric

2 cups cooked rice (Basmati is the most often used in Mulligatawny)

½ c coconut milk, + ¼ c

cilantro, shredded, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat oil in large oven-proof pot or Dutch oven. Over medium heat, sauté onion, leek, carrots, celery, and apples. Add garlic and ginger when onion is translucent. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring continually. Remove vegetable mixture from pan and set aside.

Add chicken pieces to pot and brown on all sides. Put into oven and roast covered for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool. Turn heat to 275°.

While chicken is cooling, puree veggie mixture with a little broth. Leave a few chunks for texture. Put remaining broth in pan. Add veggie mixture to the broth. Add bay leaf other spices. Stir to blend. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook for 20 minutes.

While broth is heating, remove the skin from the chicken and discard. Shred the chicken and discard the bones. Add chicken meat to the broth mixture. Add rice and stir well. Put pan in oven for 30 minutes, covered.

Remove from oven. Remove bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and cloves. Add in ½ cup coconut milk. Blend in thoroughly and serve immediately with a drizzle of coconut milk on top and a sprinkle of shredded cilantro leaves.

Mulligatawny is even better when served with traditional naan bread. Delicious for sopping up the bottom of the bowl.

DH’s Rating: 4.5 Tongues Up. “Really good. What are those chunks in there?” Better he not know about the apples.

A Month of Soups: Spicy Carrot Soup and Rt. 66

Lil Bro did the big trip he was so psyched about. You know, the trip you want to take, too. The ultimate road trip: Route 66. No Mustang, but still fun.

He began in Illinois and finished in California, just like you’re supposed to. He had a wonderful time and took close to a thousand pictures. He has a pared-down version that he presents to groups near his small Iowa town.

So, loooooonnnngggg story short(er), on his way home by another route, he called me from some place in northern California, or Utah or Colorado, or some other state, and asked me how to make Spicy Carrot Soup. He had stopped at some diner and it was the cook’s specialty, I guess. He wasn’t going to try it, but the waitress convinced him to be adventuresome. That’s what his whole trip was about! So he did, and he loved it.

He left without asking for the recipe (which I suggested he do as soon as he got home), because he was sure his cooking sister could tell him how to do it even though he was unable to identify the spices in it. Brother! I mean, literally, Brother!

So I did what any good sister would do: I googled “spicy carrot soup”. 4,680,000 hits! Okey dokey. I copied and pasted 9 of them that were different enough from one another so he might find one that would come close to his memory of the soup.

Meantime, now he’s got me intrigued by this. Spicy Carrot Soup? I’ll bet I could make up one, too. So here is my version of a Spicy Carrot Soup that I also sent to my brother. I not only used spices, but I also used parsnips, which are a spicy root vegetable. Try it. Compare it to the millions on the Internet, and let me know how many tongues up YOU give it!

Spicy Carrot Soup (serves 6-8)

6 large carrots

2 parsnips

1 large bell pepper, seeded and quartered

1 large onion, quartered

2 celery stalks, no trimming necessary

4 cloves garlic, in skins

2 T olive oil

6 cups vegetable broth, divided

1 cup buttermilk

1 t curry powder

1 t fresh ginger

½ t whole cloves

1¼ cup coconut milk, divided

cilantro sprigs for garnish

Preheat oven to 400°. Rub carrots, parsnips, bell pepper, onion, and celery with olive oil. Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet along with garlic cloves. Roast for 20 minutes until veggies show some brown and are fork-tender. Set aside. When cool, squeeze garlic from skins and discard skins.

Put ½ cup broth in blender or food processor and add roasted vegetables. Puree and strain through colander to remove skins and large chunks. Process in batches.

Combine remaining broth and strained vegetables in large pot. Add buttermilk and spices. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup coconut milk. Add remaining coconut milk to the broth mixture. Bring again to slow simmer. Fish out the cloves. Pour hot soup into bowls and drizzle the reserved coconut milk on top and garnish with cilantro sprigs. Serve immediately.

DH’s Rating: 3.7 Tongues Up. This soup seemed sweet to him and there were no chunks to gnaw on. He asked where the meat was. I threw him a chicken leg so he’d stop whining.