Mulligatawny

A warming, curry-spiced soup of lentils, vegetables and sometimes chicken, finished with coconut milk or lemon. It is thick, fragrant and gently spicy.

Mulligatawny

Mulligatawny-Soup Mumbai: GeoTrinity, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Where it comes from

Mulligatawny comes from South Indian pepper water (milagu thanni) and became a popular soup in Britain and across the English-speaking world. The version here is the creamy lentil-vegetable style.

Explore the cuisine of India, United Kingdom.

Recipe

Make Mulligatawny at home

Serves 4-6Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup red lentils
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 apple, peeled and diced
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • Lemon juice
  • Cooked rice and cilantro

How it's made

  1. Saute the onion and carrot in oil until soft.
  2. Add garlic, curry powder and turmeric and cook 1 minute.
  3. Add the apple, lentils and stock.
  4. Simmer 25 to 30 minutes until the lentils are soft.
  5. Blend partly with an immersion blender, leaving some texture.
  6. Stir in coconut milk and lemon juice and warm through.
  7. Serve with a spoonful of rice and cilantro.

Variations

  • Chicken mulligatawny with shredded chicken.
  • Vegan version with vegetable stock.
  • Add rice directly to the soup.

Cook’s tip: Toast the curry powder briefly in oil to bring out its aroma.

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About this page

Description and method written by Intercontinental Chef. Home-style method; quantities are a starting point, so adjust to taste.

Photo credit
  • Mulligatawny-Soup Mumbai: GeoTrinity, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)