memories of pepper water without chaos ::::
Ah, rich, creamy soup. There’s nothing better for comfort food. This recipe still conjures up relaxing weekends, sleeping late on Saturday mornings, and the nip of autumn or a breezy late summer day. But just like the transformation of this soup’s ingredients over the years, so has my typical weekend activity changed. The mulligatawny soup we know today is not what one might eat in southern India; it’s a tamed down version of a peppery Indian soup popular in the late 18th century, adjusted by British colonialists for Western tastes. Rich with cream and curry, it is often hearty with chicken, onion, celery, apples. and rice. This is the version that Eat and I first encountered in The Joy of Cooking cookbook before we were married, often preparing for our Friday night meal after the both of us had had a long week of studying.
It was on our honeymoon in England that I had another version, apparently a vegetarian one, made with creamy lentils topped with cucumbers, rice, and almonds. That confused me: I was convinced that my original version was outright wrong and even more Anglicized that it should be. For years, I searched for another version with meat to get the most authentic recipe. It was only after a history lesson that I realized that both versions were authentic. Most of all, mulligatawny is open to some interpretation, given the evolution (or devolution?) it has already made from a shift from one culture to another and likely availability of ingredients.
It took too long to reprise this recipe in my kitchen, without the calm Friday nights Eat and I are used to. Fridays tend to be just as busy as any other night with the kids, with nary a quiet minute [excepting the prelude to a scream after one child has been 1) hurt; 2) picked on by the other sibling; or 3) both]. Despite the weekend chaos and the soup bearing little resemblance to its original state, they have moments of bliss.
One year ago: bacon butty and browned butter-rosemary-lemon popcorn
Two years ago: indian eggs and potaoes (unday aur aloo)
- 1 cup onion, diced
- ¾ cup carrots, sliced
- 1 small bunch of celery, chopped/sliced
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 8 cups chicken and/or vegetable broth
- 1 small tart apple, peeled and diced
- 1 cup boiled rice (I used a multi-colored mix of rice - red, brown, black)
- 1½ cup chicken, cooked and diced
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 1 cup cream, warmed
- sliced toasted almonds (optional, for garnish)
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- UPDATE: You can make this almost all whole-food plant-based AND add some delicious dumplings. Here's how:
- -Replace the butter with more olive oil, or use warmed broth to cook the vegetables. Plant-based butter would work, too.
- -Use all vegetable broth. I like using mushroom broth for part of it -- umami flavors are great here.
- -Replace boiled rice with ½ cup uncooked, rinsed farro. You'll need a little more broth and longer cook time. The soup won't thicken as much using farro versus boiled white rice.
- -Replace chicken with shredded tofu: Shred one pound of super firm tofu. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes with some salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Bake until some of it gets crispy and chewy, but not dark brown.
- -Skip the cream or add plant-based milk.
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- FOR THE ADDITION OF DUMPLINGS (seriously, so good): (recipe slightly altered from homesteadingmainstreet.com/einkorn-chicken-and-dumplings/)
- 1 cup (120 g) einkorn flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons Miyoko's Creamery plant-based butter, in small pieces but kept cold
- ⅓ cup cold soy milk
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- In a soup pot, melt butter and add olive oil. Saute onion, carrot, and celery until onions are translucent and carrots and celery soften.
- Stir in flour and curry powder. Cook for about 3 minutes, while stirring.
- Pour in broth and simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Add apple, rice, chicken, salt, pepper, and thyme and simmer for 15 more minutes.
- Just before serving, add in warmed cream. Garnish with toasted almonds, if desired.
- IF ADDING DUMPLINGS:
- Mix all ingredients, using fingers or fork to break up the butter pieces. Dough will be sticky.
- Set aside a bowl with a little rice flour and/or einkorn flour. Wet hands and make about a tablespoon-sized ball with a piece of the dough. Roll in flour and set aside on plate while working with the rest of the dough.
- When soup is about done cooking, turn heat to low and add in each dumpling, not touching each other.
- Don't stir or mix. Cook for 15 minutes, covered. Serve immediately.
