How To Make Mulligatawny Soup?

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How To Make Mulligatawny Soup?

2 Answers

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Answer 1

'Pepper Water' was the nearest thing to soup in the cuisine of India, and indeed the word mulligatawny comes from the Tamil words molegoo (pepper) and tunes (water). It was originally a vegetarian 'sauce', but the British added meat and various other ingredients to create a variety of mulligatawnies which were popular in India and Ceylon, but had an extremely bad press back home in England!

The soup below is one which our delightful cook in Ceylon, Soloman, used to serve us in huge Victorian soup bowls. A basic peppered water was flavoured with various other ingredients, then the soup would be served with side bowls of cooked rice, lime wedges, grated coconut, snippets of fried bacon, quartered hard-boiled eggs and sliced chillies. You helped yourself to what you wanted - a meal in itself.

Answer 2

The inspiration for this Anglo-Indian soup was southern Indian 'pepper water' which certainly did not include apple, curry powder and chicken. This flavourful soup is still a favourite among the Westernized middle-class, who enjoys it in their private clubs. Generally people like the idea of starting their meal with soups as starters; it makes their taste a little more variable.

2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon crushed ginger root
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 large onion, sliced
2 tablespoon Bengal gram or chickpea flour
1 green apple, peeled and diced
1 heaped tablespoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 medium-sized tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
3 cups chicken stock
1-2 tablespoon boiled rice
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded
Lemon wedges

Heat the oil and add the ginger and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes, then add the onion and sauté until the onion is transparent. Add the gram flour, apple, curry powder, turmeric, tomatoes, bay leaf, pepper and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 45 minutes, then process in a blender or pass through sieve. Add the rice and chicken, stir well and serve with lemon wedge.