Mulligatawny Soup 🇬🇧

A classic in British Indian cuisine, Mulligatawny Soup is relatively easy to make with flavours that will leave you wanting more. It is like a comforting chicken soup, enlivened with curry spices. Apple balances out the savoury and the soup is thickened with red lentils and fragrant basmati rice.

Let’s get cooking Mulligatawny Soup…

Ingredients

1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 large carrot
2 ribs celery
1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 chicken thighs
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard seed
1 bay leaf
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
1/4 cup basmati rice (uncooked and rinsed)
1/4 cup red lentils (uncooked and rinsed)
1 cup apple (peeled and chopped)
plain yoghurt and cilantro to garnish (optional)

Directions

Chop into small pieces 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 large carrot and 2 ribs celery. Place in a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon grated ginger and set aside.
In a dutch oven or large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons unsalted butter over medium heat. Add 4 chicken thighs (boneless and skinless) and 1 teaspoon salt. Brown the chicken on both sides. Add the diced vegetables from step 1. Stirring occasionally, cook until the onions are translucent – about 5 to 10 minutes.
Add 2 teaspoons curry powder, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander and 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard seed and stir to combine. Saute for a few minutes and then add 1 bay leaf, 3 cups chicken stock, 1 cup water, 1/4 cup basmati rice (uncooked and rinsed), 1/4 cup red lentils (uncooked and rinsed) and 1 cup apple (peeled and chopped). Bring to a boil, turn the burner to low heat and cover with a lid. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is cooked. Turn the heat off.
Remove the bay leaf and discard. Next, remove the chicken thighs, roughly chop them and then place them back in the soup. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup a little. You want it to still have some texture so don’t over blend. Add more, salt, pepper or curry to taste.
When serving, garnish the top (optional) with a teaspoon of plain yoghurt and cilantro.

Tips & Bits

Curry powders vary greatly in heat and flavour. For this recipe, I use Sharwoods Medium Curry Powder.
This recipe can easily be converted to a vegetarian version by omitting the chicken and chicken stock. It will still taste fantastic.
The history of this soup dates back to the British Raj, when the British wanted a soup as part of their meal but the Indian cuisine did not have a suitable choice. A soup was created, with the rough translation of Mulligatawny being “pepper water”. The colonists liked it so much that they brought the recipe back to Britain and it is easily found these days, especially on pub menus.