Mulligatawny Soup

Edith copied the following recipe and comments from Laurie Colwin's column in Gourmet Magazine, Dec. 1993, p. 105

2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and chopped 1 onion, chopped 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 bay leaf, broken in pieces 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 4 chicken thighs (or 2 breasts), cut into big pieces 4 cups chicken broth 6 tablespoons lentils 3 tablespoons long-grain rice 1 tablespoon lemon juice salt to taste scallions, chopped for serving

Edith's recipe copy

In a blender puree garlic, ginger, onion, cayenne, turmeric, coriander, and bay leaf. You will need to scrape down the side with a spatula from time to time.

In a large heavy sauce pan, cook the spice paste in vegetable oil over moderate heat, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the chicken, and cook and stir the mixture for 1 minute.

Stir in chicken broth (or water) and lentils and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring once in a while. Stir in rice and simmer about 15 minutes more until the rice is tender.

Remove and set aside the chicken in a bowl. In the blender purée the rest of the soup in batches and return it to the pan. Stir in the chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces and 1 tablespoon lemon juice, season the soup with salt and serve it sprinkled with chopped scallions.

Quoting Laurie Colwin:
Mulligatawny soup constitutes a festive dish that may also be prepared without chicken or stock and served to vegetarians. A suitable backdrop for making this soup would be a dark sky, freezing drizzle, a fire in the fireplace (if you have one, or a candle or two if you don’t) and a cozily set table. You then need some hungry friends, of course, an all-American cheese popover to go with the soup and baked apples for dessert. This is the sort of soup that warms you up and keeps you warm, but then all lentil soups are like that, bless their little hearts.

Edith added:
I enjoy Laurie Colwin's articles so much—unhappily she died a year or two ago, but they are still publishing her articles posthumously. I have read about mulligatawny soup, but never knew what it was. Sound goods—and like all soups you can adapt it to your own likes. One of these days, I’ll try it. If I find more recipes, I'll send them on to you if they sound good.

Laurie Colwin wrote fiction, essays and cookbooks. She was a columinst in Gourmet Magazine for many years until she died in 1992 at age 48. I don't know whether Edith ever tried this recipe, but I have. Hal and I really like it—just the thing for cold winter nights. I've adapted it to avoid pureeing. This makes a lot. I usually pull out the chicken thighs to use in other meals. Sometimes I skip them entirely.

Jill's Mulligatawny Stew

• 4 chicken thighs
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1-inch piece of ginger root, minced
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 4 cups stock
• 1/3 cup lentils
• 1/3 cup brown rice

In a soup kettle, sear chicken thighs in olive oil until both sides are well browned but not cooked through. Set them aside.

In the same oil sauté garlic, turmeric, onion, ginger, coriander, cayenne and cumin. Add stock, lentils, rice and chicken. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve the stew in bowls, topped with a liberal dollop of Beet Raita or plain yogurt.

Beet Raita

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/2 cup chopped beets
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber

Mix together and refrigerate until wanted.

Adapted from Curries Without Worries by Sudha Koul. The beets make a lovely pink color and the cucumber cools the spiciness of the stew.