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-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
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
- Saute the onion and carrot in oil until soft.
- Add garlic, curry powder and turmeric and cook 1 minute.
- Add the apple, lentils and stock.
- Simmer 25 to 30 minutes until the lentils are soft.
- Blend partly with an immersion blender, leaving some texture.
- Stir in coconut milk and lemon juice and warm through.
- 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)
