Refined Mulligatawny

RECIPE #374, DAY #544

ORIGINAL RECIPE: “Mulligatawny Soup”/”Mullagatanni,” from Julie Sahni’s Classic Indian Cooking*

TIMING: 1 hour, much of it simmering time

DIFFICULTY: Easy, but more involved than your everyday soup

TOOLS: Soup pot, whisk, small skillet, sieve, immersion blender

COOK TYPE: Stovetop

HEALTH: There’s just a small amount of cream here, but I would call this a nice, healthy soup. You are going to need some staying power, though, from something else.

EXPERIENCE: I have made this before. It an interesting version of an already interesting soup. Not at all like the chunky, hearty affair that I expect, this is a much creamier, smoother, and a more refined version of the Indian-English fusion soup that is ubiquitous in British cuisine. Velvety. That’s the best word.

Everyone at supper club raved over this soup, which they termed an Indian cream of onion soup.

NOTES: Part of what makes this soup wonderful is the texture, which means you can not skimp on the technique.

You can make this with a blender instead of an immersion blender, just be really careful with the hot soup.

***

1. In a soup pot, combine 1 chopped onion, 3 chopped carrots, 2 sliced celery stalks, 2 chopped parsnips, 8 ounces sliced mushrooms, 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth, 2 cloves chopped garlic, 1 sprig cilantro, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, mostly cover, and cook for 45 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons ghee or safflower oil over medium heat in a small skillet. Add 1/2 minced onion and stir until onion is browned. Add 1 1/3 tablespoons curry powder and 3 tablespoons all purpose flour and stir for 1 minute. Set aside.
3. Turn off the heat and puree soup completely with immersion blender. Then pour through a sieve and work some of the pulp through.
4. Bring the soup back to a simmer. Slowly whisk in the onion and flour mixture, stirring vigorously until soup thickens. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in 1/2 cup cream, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, and salt to taste.

***

Serve with crisped triangles of buttered naan. Makes a great first course for an Indian or British meal.

LEFTOVER IDEAS: Simply re-heat, adding more cream, salt, and cilantro to taste. This would make a nice accompaniment for a lunch sandwich or soup.

*Recipe changed from the original.