Mulligatawny Soup
Mulligatawny Soup is a creamy, curry-flavored soup that originated in southern India. This unique soup is delicious! In fact, you can’t eat this soup standing up – your knees buckle!
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If you’re a Seinfeld fan, then you’re certainly familiar with the Soup Nazi. Heck, even if you aren’t a Seinfeld fan, I would venture to guess that you are familiar with the Soup Nazi. The Soup Nazi ran a popular soup shop in NYC, and he made his customers follow a very strict set of rules in order to purchase a bowl of his soup. If they didn’t follow the rules? “No soup for you!”
The funny thing about the Soup Nazi is he is a relatively small character in the overall timeline of the show. There are 180 episodes of Seinfeld over it’s 9-year run, and the Soup Nazi only appears in 2 episodes. Nevertheless, his name is forever linked with the show.
In one episode, Elaine asks Kramer if he needs anything. Kramer responds that a good bowl of Mulligatawny Soup from the Soup Nazi would hit the spot. Elaine asks what Mulligatawny Soup is, and Kramer answers, “It’s an Indian Soup, simmered to perfection by one of the great soup artisans of the modern era.” While Mulligatawny Soup is certainly not as well known in the world of soups, I have to agree with Kramer here. It’s one heck of an amazing soup! In fact, you can’t eat this soup standing up – your knees buckle!
Mulligatawny Soup
I didn’t grow up eating many international foods. In fact, I wasn’t really exposed to Indian foods until I met Laura. She loves Indian cuisine, and over the years I’ve come to really enjoy various Indian dishes myself. For me, one of the biggest roadblocks for Indian food was the fact that I didn’t know what was in it. I’d see a creamy sauce poured over rice, but I had no idea what went into that sauce. That scared me. It shouldn’t have scared me, but it did. So I avoided Indian food – even when Laura would rave about how good it was.
Not too long after we moved to upstate New York, I had the opportunity to co-host two small cooking classes with Suvir Suran. To be fair, co-host is a big stretch. I was more like Suvir’s sous-chef, and I certainly didn’t deserve to be standing next to one of the legends in Indian cooking. Suvir appeared on Top Chef: Masters and also ran Dévi, a New York City restaurant that specialized in Indian home cooking. Dévi was the first Indian restaurant in the US to earn a Michelin star. Needless to say, I learned a lot working alongside Suvir for those cooking classes.
The most important thing I learned from Suvir? There is nothing to be afraid of in Indian home cooking. That, and always chop cilantro right before you use it. (I had chopped the cilantro a couple hours early in preparation for our class – oops.) Oh, and don’t double the cayenne or salt when you double a recipe.
Mulligatawny Soup is a relatively new soup for me, but I have to say that this has earned a spot in the yearly rotation of winter soups. This soup is creamy and delicious! Yes, it’s got a notable Indian flare thanks to the curry powder and turmeric, but the taste of those Indian spices will keep you coming back for more.
Vegetables in soup? Completely normal. Apples in soup? What in the Sam Hill? I will admit that I was a bit skeptical about using 2 green apples in this Mulligatawny Soup. However, once the apples simmer in the soup for a bit, they take on the flavor of the rest of the ingredients. The sweetness totally works with the other flavors in this recipe.
In fact, I wouldn’t have even known the soup had apples if I hadn’t made this recipe myself. Laura guessed they were chunks of celery, and I would’ve guessed they were sweet potatoes. Nope, apples. But the tartness from those apples adds an important element to this recipe. Don’t omit them – even if it does sound a bit odd to put diced apples in soup!
If you’ve never had Mulligatawny Soup, then put this one on the menu for a cold day. Or perhaps you’ve had this soup, but never made it at home – put a batch on the stovetop this weekend! This soup is the ideal type of comfort food for chilly winter days!
Did you make a batch of this Mulligatawny Soup at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!
Mulligatawny Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1 large carrot peeled and diced
- 1½ Tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp minced garlic cloves
- ½ Tbsp grated ginger root
- 2 green apples peeled, cored and diced
- 1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1 14-oz. can coconut milk
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock see note
- ¼ cup uncooked basmati rice
- ½ cup dry red lentils
- 1 cup shredded cooked chicken (see note)
- ½ cup half-and-half
- plain Greek yogurt for garnishing
- chopped Italian parsley for garnishing
- red pepper flakes for garnishing
Instructions
- Using a large soup pot or large Dutch oven, add butter and place over medium heat. Once hot, add diced onions, celery and carrots; stir until well combined. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes.
- Add spices (curry powder, salt, cumin, pepper, thyme, paprika and turmeric); stir until well combined.
- Add garlic, ginger, apples and tomatoes; stir until well combined. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes.
- Add coconut milk, chicken broth, rice, lentils and chicken; stir until well combined. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 40-45 minutes, or until lentils are soft.
- Heat half-and-half in microwave or separate pot; stir into soup.
- Before serving, garnish bowls of soup with a dollop of Greek yogurt and sprinkle of chopped parsley and red pepper flakes.
Notes
Looking for more Indian recipes? Check out these other favorites: (Laura requests that Chicken Tikka Masala on a fairly regular basis – she says it’s better than a restaurant!)
Will be making this soon can i use vegan butter / mushrooms and coconut cream i never had mulligatawny soup before am indian and i approved this perfect for raining days in Singapore and after office meals love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
Hey Ramya! Soups are a great place for vegan substitutions, and I think your ideas sound great here. This is a really tasty recipe, and it’s great for cold and rainy (snowy here…) days. 🙂
Wow! Thats a flavour explosion in a bowl. So comforting.
Thanks so much, Raymund! There’s nothing worse than a bland bowl of soup…haha.
A new one for me David. I’m not keen on Indian food (too many trips there and too much spicy food), but this looks mighty tasty. I like the flavor profile (except the curry), so I’ll keep this one handy for the next time we have some cooked chicken to use up. Thanks for sharing…
So the curry powder adds a noticeable layer of flavor in this soup, Ron – after all, there’s 1.5 tablespoons of powder in there. I’m not sure what would happen if you omit it. However, this is a really tasty soup…and that’s coming from a guy who is still somewhat wary when it comes to Indian flavors in his food. 🙂
Chicken stock or broth? It says stock in the ingredient list, but broth throughout the recipe.
Sorry, Mark! I often use stock and broth interchangeably even though they’re not technically the same. Either one will work with this recipe. Hope you enjoy it!
We love Indian food, although I haven’t tried this soup — it looks so hearty and delicious! Glad Laura opened up your culinary palate!!
This is a unique soup for sure, Michelle – I mean curry powder in soup? But it’s delicious! And it’s a great way to warm up on a snowy day. 🙂
Awesome! Just wonderful. Followed the recipe as written.
Thank you SO much, Aunt Mary!! 🙂
Well why have I never heard of this?! It sounds wonderful, and all of those fabulous ingredients – wow! I used to make my own curry powders. Why I don’t know, when I’m retired and have free time is beyond me. There is one from Penzey’s that I’ll use occasionally when I’m just making something Indian-inspired. But it’s also so easy to just use cumin, coriander, cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon, allspice… this is from reading Ron’s comment about making something Indian without the curry! Cracked me up!
I made my own curry powder one time, too, Mimi – it was fantastic! But it did take a bit of time. I do want to try my hand at it again sometime, but for now the pre-made powders are a great time-saver. I do highly recommend this soup…it’s fantastic on cold winter days!
What a fantastic soup with such amazing flavors. A great bowl of soup is necessary during this snowy winter! I love Seinfeld and just recently began rewatching, starting with the very first episode. It’s so funny to watch because their characters aren’t really developed yet. I’ll need to work my through to the Soup Nazi!
The winter started mild here, but it’s mild no longer – we’re getting hit with ice and snow daily now. Umph. It’s days like this when soup tastes even better! Now as far as re-watching Seinfeld…I really should do that. I don’t think I’ve ever watched in order. I’ve seen almost all of the episodes, but I’ve just caught them here and there on rerun. Great idea for cold winter nights!!
I’ve never heard of Mulligatawny Soup (As I’m not well familiar with Indian cuisine), but this dish looks and sounds utterly comforting and delicious. We’ve been having very strong and cold winds lately – this recipe would be a perfect way to deal with the weather!
Like you, I’m not as familiar with Indian cuisine, but I have been dabbling in it here and there over the years. This soup is fantastic! It’s hard to beat a bowl of good soup on a cold, snowy day!
David, you know how much I am a fan of soups and curries and your Mulligatawny Soup looks amazing! Combining two of my favourite meals into one! I must make this. It’s a first for me as a soup. I use green apples in my celery soup so I’m no stranger to that. And this has got chicken in it too. Lovely. It’s a whole meal in one. Thank you!
Yes! I do know you are a big fan of curry – you should try this in a soup. I have to say this is a tasty soup…and it tastes even better on cold days. 🙂 Thanks, Neil!
Big Seinfeld fan and that was a classic episode! The weird thing is that I’ve never had Mulligatawny Soup – clearly I’ve been missing out!
Haha – you are missing out indeed, Marissa! Mulligatawny Soup is delicious! 🙂
not a huge fan of curry powder (too much turmeric) but i don’t mind sri lankan curry powder so much. must be a different combo of spices. This looks great but maybe not for our summer!
Hmmm, I’m not sure I’ve ever had Sri Lankan curry powder – I’ll have to look for that! Thanks for the idea, Sherry!
Ermmm… I guess this is some kinda fusion soup, because mulligatawny is a literal tamil word, mulliga is actually milagu meaning black pepper and tawny is thanni meaning water. It’s pepper water, namely the south Indian dish called “rasam”, we do have it as a soup especially if you have a cold, the pepper spices will knock the cold out of you 😉 there are several varieties of rasam, and i guess someone made a fusion dish. If you go to an Indian restaurant in South India and get this soup , it won’t be so thick, and it will probably be a lot more peppery.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing the background here, Senthil. I certainly can’t speak to the origins of this soup, but I can say that it is fantastic! It’s great for cold times of the year when you just need comfort food to warm you up! I do hope you try it out!
Growing up in the U.K. we had Mulligatawny soup regularly in the winter months. However, I do not remember the soup containing actual chicken. Is this an American addition?
Hey Valerie! That’s a really good question about the addition of chicken here. I couldn’t tell you where this got added…although I can say that it’s quite tasty! I’m sure you could omit the chicken, though. Either way, this is a flavorful soup that’s perfect for cold winter months!
Excellent recipe! I made Mulligatawny soup years ago – the first time I had ever tried it – and fell entirely in love. I lost that recipe though, and ever since have been looking for another recipe that even came close. I tried this recipe and can say wholeheartedly that this one beats the recipe I used to have, hands down. SO GOOD!!!!
I omitted the lentils due to a legume allergy and just added a bit more rice and chicken. I think I also upped the carrots and celery just a bit. Otherwise made exactly as written. Everyone absolutely loved this soup, and my dinner guests begged me to email the recipe to them.
Thanks for bringing this soup back into my life!
Hey Michelle! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe – this is such a unique soup, but it’s so delicious! I mean how many other soup recipes call for apples!? We’re heading into some hot days here, but another batch of this soup will definitely be on the agenda in the fall! 🙂
Absolutely delicious! Feeding a crowd here (with one Vegan member) so we used olive oil for sautéing, doubled all the liquid, spices, lentils & rice, and served with chicken on the side & half/half for finishing for those who wanted it. It was a huge success!!! (The half/half makes this so silky!) Highly recommend
Hey Mandi! I’m so glad you enjoyed this soup – it is a unique one, but really delicious! And that was a creative way to feed a crowd with both vegan and non-vegans. It’s getting chilly here, and it’s about time for us to make another batch of this soup. Thanks for the comment!
My daughter is vegan, and I am dairy intolerant, so have been substituting Harmless Harvest Plain Greek Yogurt (made with coconut milk, but doesn’t taste like coconut at all – more like sour cream) in soup recipes and it is fabulous. Coconut milk would be a good substitute in this particular soup with the flavor profile.
You make a good point about that plain Greek yogurt, Michelle – the flavor profile would totally work in this recipe. I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we do! 🙂
I have never ever written a review for a recipe before! I must say this is the best thing I’ve come across, made and eaten since the pandemic! I luv luv to cook and I’m always trying to find new things that get the taste buds happy! THIS IS IT!! So flavorful and amazing! Thank you sooo much! I now have more faith in humanity!!
Hey Rona! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. It really is quite delicious! The best thing you’ve made since the pandemic? That’s a pretty high mark – thank you!! 🙂
Totally delicious! Although it seems like it has a lot of ingredients, this comes together very quickly. It is very easy to make this dairy-free AND vegetarian, yet still retain it’s remarkable flavor.
I’m so glad you liked this soup, Gloria! I agree that the ingredient list looks rather daunting, but it does indeed come together quickly. This soup has great flavor – we make a batch or two every year!
I will make this next Friday (1 week away) – but would like to know how many bowls the recipe makes – looks like a lot and there are only two of us – so I’ll want to cut it back to maybe two meals for two people – assuming it freezes and returns to goodness when reheated?
Hey Rick! It’s hard to say how many bowls this makes as different folks have different serving sizes. However, with that said, we get 8 generous portions (plus usually some more) from this recipe. It is a large pot of soup, so I would recommend cutting it in half if there are only 2 of you. This soup also freezes well, and it reheats fabulously! I hope you enjoy this one as much as we do – it’s a cold weather staple around here.
I specifically made this soup in honor of Kramer and Seinfeld. I looked through multiple recipes and yours just felt right. I really wanted to love this soup because of the K Man’s love for it. I was not disappointed! This soup is packed with so much fantastic flavor. I did not want to stop eating it. Thank you sharing!!!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Kristine! It is definitely a good one to make in honor of Kramer. 🙂 Enjoy the leftovers!
Amazing ! This just earned a spot on our regular weekly menu plan. Delicious !
I’m so glad you enjoyed this soup, Rune! It’s a favorite in our house, too. 🙂
Yummy love Indian food the most!!
We do, too, Julia!! I hope you enjoy this soup. It’s delicious!