Creamy Mulligatawny Soup
Mulligatawny soup is not a true Indian dish. Instead it is a recipe was created from a blend of British and Indian tastes.
The word mulligatawny originally comes from the Indian dialect Tamil and translates as “pepper water.” I was actually first introduced to this dish while watching the Seinfeld television show, in which the “soup Nazi” character selectively served his mulligatawny soup to customers he thought were worthy of it.
This soup is made with yellow lentils, called dhuli moong dal in Hindi, and I like to add peas and potatoes to it. This warm and filling soup gets its rich consistency from heavy cream, which also makes this soup a hearty, comforting dish to enjoy during chilly weather!
Enjoy this soup as an appetizer, along with the main course, or by itself for a light, yet satisfying meal.
Creamy Mulligatawny Soup
Ingredients
- 100 g dried yellow lentils dhuli moong daal
- 3¼ cups water
- 1 tomato cut in half
- ½ cup green peas fesh or frozen
- 1 small russet potato peeled and cut into ½ inch ( 1¼ cm) cubes
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon red peppers ground
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper ground
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 8 to 12 fresh fresh mint leaves rinsed, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Place the lentils in a small bowl. Rinse the lentils three times by repeatedly filling the bowl with cold water and then carefully draining it off. It is okay if the water is a bit frothy. Pour the lentils into a sieve to drain.
- Place the lentils, water, and tomato in a medium saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. It is okay if the water gets frothy. Stir and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally and lightly mash the tomato.
- Reduce the heat to low and partially cover the saucepan. Simmer for about 7 minutes or until the lentils are completely soft. Stir occasionally and continue to mash the tomato. Turn off the heat and transfer the contents to a blender.
- Purée until smooth. Pour the blended lentil mixture back into the saucepan (or use an immersion blender and purée in the saucepan). Add the peas, potato, turmeric, red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
- Stir and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the saucepan and cook for 5 minutes. Stir every minute or so to keep the soup from burning on the bottom of the pan.
- Add the heavy cream. Stir to combine. Cover the saucepan. Cook for about 5 minutes and stir every minute until you can easily insert a knife through the potato cubes. Enjoy now or let cool to room temperature and refrigerate or freeze for later! Garnish each portion with 2 or 3 mint leaves before serving.
Notes
Related: Pumpkin Cream Soup with Saffron & Melting Chestnuts
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Related: Creamy Lentil & Chickpea Soup
