This vegetarian mulligatawny soup recipe is made with red lentils, carrots, onions, potatoes and seasoned with Indian spices. With origins in India, it is a rich, hearty, and comforting lentil-based soup that is also vegan and dairy free.
What is the origin of Indian Mulligatawny soup?
According to Lizzie Collingham in her book “Curry” it was one of the earliest dishes to emerge from the hybrid cuisine that the Britishers developed in India, where they combined British concepts of how food should be presented with Indian recipes.Soups, especially rich and hearty British style soups are quite alien to Indian cuisine so the local cooks adapted the South Indian soup rasam (made with black pepper) to create a hybrid style fusion soup to appease the British palate. Over the years, there have been so many changes to the ingredients that the contemporary version bears no resemblance to the traditional South Indian rasam.
The traditional South Indian rasam is a spicy vegetarian broth, whereas Mulligatawny soup is a rich, creamy and velvety style soup. What it does have in common with the original rasam are the Indian spices, both powdered and whole spices. With all this history, Mulligatawny soup is also considered to be India’s national soup.
Vegetarian Mulligatawny Soup | Vegan and Dairy Free
Ingredients
▢3 tablespoons vegetable oil
▢3 cloves garlic sliced
▢¼ inch cube of fresh ginger peeled and sliced
▢1 onion chopped
▢1 teaspoon cumin seeds
▢8 black peppercorn
▢1 cinnamon stick
▢3 cloves
▢1 ½ teaspoon coriander powder
▢½ teaspoon red chili powder
▢½ teaspoon turmeric
▢½ teaspoon curry powder
▢1 carrot diced
▢1 potato cubed
▢1 apple diced
▢4 oz 113g red split lentils / masoor daal
▢600 ml vegetable stock
▢1 teaspoon salt
▢1 tablespoon lemon juice
To Serve
▢Vegan yoghurt for garnish
▢½ cup Coriander / cilantro leaves chopped
▢Boiled rice
Instructions
Heat oil in a heavy medium sized saucepan and add the sliced garlic and ginger. Saute for a minute till the garlic gets light golden and aroma is released.
Add the chopped onion, and saute for 2 – 3 minutes till onion is translucent.
Add the whole spices (cumin seeds, black peppercorn, cinnamon stick and cloves) and saute for a minute.
Add the powdered spices (coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder and curry powder) and saute for around 2 minutes. In case the spices stick to the bottom of the pan, add a splash of water.
Add the cubed carrot, potato and apple and saute for a minute. Then add the soaked lentils, followed by the vegetable stock.
Bring the soup to a boil, and then turn heat to low.
Partially cover with a lid and cook for around 30 minutes till vegetables and lentils are tender and soft.
Turn off the heat, and remove the whole spices, especially the cinnamon stick and the cloves.
Blend with an immersion blender, till smooth or let it cool for 10 – 15 minutes and then blend it in batches in a blender.
Turn heat to medium, and bring the soup to a light bowl. Add salt, and lemon juice. If preferred additional liquid can be added at this stage.
Garnish with coriander leaves, and serve hot with boiled rice and yoghurt on the side.
