Me and my Mulligatawny

Mulligatawny Soup

It seems as though I have television on the brain lately. But there is a valid reason. My boyfriend has just bought a big, shiny new one. Yes, you know where this is going.

My childhood is peppered with strange television memories. Saturday mornings started the same way each time: fighting with my brother over what cartoons to watch. His favourites inevitably involved superheroes saving the planet yet again, while he munched away on a bowl of honeycomb cereal. While I, with my much more girly honey nut cornflakes, insisted on the Muppet Babies. Somehow it seemed that my brother always won, and I would protest by standing in front of the television twirling my baton and practicing my marching band moves. Ok, maybe I only did that once. Usually I just sulked on the couch in defeat and watched whatever stupid cartoon he was watching.

So then I grew up. A little. It was an episode of Gimme a Break that first taught me that sometimes a girl can wear too much lip gloss. ("You look like you just ate a pork chop without using your hands"). When I was finally old enough to wear lip gloss it was clear that that episode had sealed my fate as the girl who always wears just the right amount of lip gloss.
Years later it was Frasier that first introduced me to the concept of a crème brulée torch, and I thought it was something so absurd that there was no way I would ever own one. (ok, I still don't but it's not because I don't want one).
And yes, it was Seinfeld and his soup nazi that put the word Mulligatawny into my vocabulary.

Though I'd never made it or even eaten it, Mulligatawny became the butt of jokes for years to come. The standard question of "What do you feel like eating?" still offers a comedic moment when answered with an overly enthusiastic "MULLIGATAWNY!"
Ok, maybe I'm the only who finds that funny, but I have always been easily amused.

I have no idea what possessed me after all these years to finally make Mulligatawny soup. Yes, perhaps it was the new TV. But now that I have made it, I feel as though I've just reclaimed my youth in some way; as though those Seinfeld episodes really weren't so long ago, and no, I'm not all that old. If ever I felt like snuggling up with my tv and telling it how much it means to me, that time is definitely now.


Mulligatawny Soup from Bon Appetit, September 2005
The soup was delicious. Me and my mulligatawny are going to be friends for years to come.

1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 cups chopped onion
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1.5 tablespoons garam masala
1.5 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
2 cups dried red lentils
8 cups low-salt chicken broth (my note: or your salty broth if you prefer)
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups cooked basmati rice
lemon wedges

Heat vegetable oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until golden brown, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 2 minutes. Add garam masala and next 4 ingredients; stir 1 minute. Add lentils; stir until coated. Add chicken broth. Bring soup to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are very tender, about 20 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return to pot. Stir in chicken, coconut milk, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide rice among bowls. Pour soup over. Garnish with lemon wedges; serve.


To my vegetarian friends, (Amylou? are you reading this?) let it be noted that even though I thought I was fully prepared, I was in fact out of chicken stock so I used vegetable stock and it tasted great even before adding the chicken. So you could easily make a chicken-free mulligatawny, which would really be more like a curried lentil soup, but with a more exciting and exotic and Seinfeldy name.

And the excitement doesn't stop there..
The soup itself is served in bowls over some cooked rice. If you are in the mood for more of a curry than a soup, use more rice. If you are in the mood for soupy, then add just a bit of rice. Each person can customize their own--and you know, on-the-spot soup customization options are hard to come by.