Mulligatawny soup. Savoury lentils. Chicken. Indian spices. Ginger. Garlic. And lemon. How can you go wrong?
Make this when you want something different. Comforting. Deeply satisfying. And so tasty. If you like dal, you are going to love mulligatawny soup.
It can be what’s for dinner. With a paratha or naan. Little green salad on the side. It’s that satisfying. Soup that eats like a meal.
Leave the chicken out and you have a nice “cream of” style soup without the cream. Very posh. Perfect for a dinner party. Just keep the portions small.
Or go with vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, leave out the garnish and it’s vegan. It’s gluten free too. Lentils are environmentally friendly.
Healthy. Good for the planet. Sometimes delicious can be good for you. It happens. It’s rare. But it happens. This is one of those times. I love these times.
Mulligatawny soup – English or Indian?
Mulligatawny soup comes from Colonial India. Time of the British Raj. Back in the late 1800s. It’s an English recipe really.
Roots in Indian cooking for sure. But British. It’s like a tame sambar . Or a pureed rasam. A western take on Indian flavours. East meets west. Kipling stands corrected…
Depending on who you believe it is named for the Tamil words for pepper and water. This recipe does have a good amount of black pepper in it.
Roll back on it if you’re not a big pepper fan. Use a bit of white pepper instead if you are doing this for a dinner party. No little black flecks that way.
Or embrace those black flecks. Feature them. That’s what I do. It’s pepper water. It should have pepper. I think anyway.
Pepper water. It’s funny. This has nothing to do with pepper water. And everything to do with bold flavours and creamy texture. Have I mentioned I love mulligatawny soup?
Mulligatawny soup is lentil soup
This is a creamy lentil soup without the cream. Masoor dal or red split lentils to be exact. Great thing about masoor dal. Cook it long enough and it disintegrates. Just perfect for soup.
Like any pureed lentil soup it has good body. Texture. Mouthfeel. The spice mix adds a warming heat. The lemon brings a bit of acidity to cut through it all. Wakes every thing up nicely.
I’ve seen a lot of mulligatawny recipes out there that have a ton of stuff in them. Vegetables. Rice. Coconut milk. Like a stew really. Or a vegetable curry.
I’ve even seen recipes without lentils. That just makes no sense to me. Just strange. I can see the coconut milk. Maybe. I might try that some time.
Mulligatawny over rice. Makes sense. But rice and no lentils? Not for me. You might disagree. I’m good with that. But give this version a try before you write me off…
Make it ahead of time
The great thing about mulligatawny soup is it reheats really well. It’s a lentil dish so there’s nothing to get overcooked really.
You can just warm it up gently before you serve. If you are adding cream do that after you warm it up. It’s bullet proof. Perfect for dinner parties.
Makes a great lunch too. Something to bring to work. It’s even microwave friendly.
And it’s a snap to make. Cook some lentils and potatoes in stock. Puree it. A blender works best.
Fry up some spices with some garlic ginger paste. Cook the chicken. It’s cut into small pieces so that takes no time. Toss it all together. Add a bit of fresh lemon juice to brighten things up and serve. This is really dead easy.
This recipe is loosely based on a recipe in Madhur Jaffrey’s Illustrated Indian Cookery. I don’t usually do tribute recipes. Try to stick to my own stuff.
But we are talking about Madhur here. And I owe her. Lots of people owe her.
She started me off. My very first Indian cookbook. Should have paid more attention to what my parents were cooking.
Whether it’s Indian or English, mulligatawny soup is a great addition to any menu. Try it.
If you like lentils. And you like Indian flavours. Then you are just going to love this. I know I do. Seriously good.
mulligatawny soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups red split lentils – also known as masoor dahl
- 8 cups low or no-sodium chicken stock
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 8 oz potatoes cubed in 1/2 inch dice (see note).
- 4 Tbsp garlic/ginger paste – recipe link below
- 3 kashmiri chilies – optional
- 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Juice of a lemon
- 1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or boneless skinless chicken breasts if you prefer. I like thighs for this.
Spice Mix
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp mild kashmiri chili powder or 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp course ground black pepper or 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 2 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
Instructions
Prepare the lentils
- Combine lentils, chicken stock and turmeric. Bring to a simmer. Then cover. That’s important. Lentils boil over. Big mess. Cook, covered for 30 minutes.
- Add potatoes. Simmer another 30 minutes.
- Let the soup cool a bit. Then puree the lentil mixture in batches. Your blender works best. Return soup to pot. Be careful here. Make sure you are set up to release steam. You don’t want to get burned. That would suck.
Make the mulligatawny soup
- Trim visible fat from the chicken. Cut into 1/3 inch chunks. Little bites really.
- Add the oil to a clean frying pan. Heat over medium heat.
- Pay attention at this point. Add the garlic ginger paste and fry, stirring constantly until the splattering stops.
- Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the spice mix and continue to stir constantly for another 30 seconds. Regulate your heat. Don’t let the spices burn! You are blooming spices here. This is where the magic happens.
- Toss in the whole kashmiri chilies. Cook them around 15 seconds. Flip them. Cook another 15 seconds or so.
- Turn the heat back up to medium. Add the chicken and continue to stir. Cook chicken until almost done – about 3 minutes. Stir the whole time. It may take a little longer. I don’t know your stove or your pan so it’s a little hard to be precise.
- Transfer the chicken mixture to soup pot and stir it in. Simmer 3 minutes. Add lemon juice. Let it simmer another 2 minutes.
- It will probably be too thick at this point. Thin it out with some stock. You want a texture somewhere around a full-bodied cream of soup.
- Adjust seasoning (salt) to taste. To my taste another teaspoon or a bit more works. But everyone is different. Creep up on it. You can always add more salt. That’s easy. Taking it away is pretty much impossible.
- Serve with a spoonful of raita or drizzle with a bit of heavy cream.
Notes
Nutrition
mulligatawny soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups red split lentils - also known as masoor dahl
- 8 cups low or no-sodium chicken stock
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 8 oz potatoes cubed in 1/2 inch dice (see note).
- 4 Tbsp garlic/ginger paste - recipe link below
- 3 kashmiri chilies - optional
- 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Juice of a lemon
- 1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or boneless skinless chicken breasts if you prefer. I like thighs for this.
Spice Mix
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp mild kashmiri chili powder or 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp course ground black pepper or 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 2 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
Instructions
Prepare the lentils
- Combine lentils, chicken stock and turmeric. Bring to a simmer. Then cover. That’s important. Lentils boil over. Big mess. Cook, covered for 30 minutes.
- Add potatoes. Simmer another 30 minutes.
- Let the soup cool a bit. Then puree the lentil mixture in batches. Your blender works best. Return soup to pot. Be careful here. Make sure you are set up to release steam. You don’t want to get burned. That would suck.
Make the mulligatawny soup
- Trim visible fat from the chicken. Cut into 1/3 inch chunks. Little bites really.
- Add the oil to a clean frying pan. Heat over medium heat.
- Pay attention at this point. Add the garlic ginger paste and fry, stirring constantly until the splattering stops.
- Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the spice mix and continue to stir constantly for another 30 seconds. Regulate your heat. Don’t let the spices burn! You are blooming spices here. This is where the magic happens.
- Toss in the whole kashmiri chilies. Cook them around 15 seconds. Flip them. Cook another 15 seconds or so.
- Turn the heat back up to medium. Add the chicken and continue to stir. Cook chicken until almost done - about 3 minutes. Stir the whole time. It may take a little longer. I don’t know your stove or your pan so it’s a little hard to be precise.
- Transfer the chicken mixture to soup pot and stir it in. Simmer 3 minutes. Add lemon juice. Let it simmer another 2 minutes.
- It will probably be too thick at this point. Thin it out with some stock. You want a texture somewhere around a full-bodied cream of soup.
- Adjust seasoning (salt) to taste. To my taste another teaspoon or a bit more works. But everyone is different. Creep up on it. You can always add more salt. That’s easy. Taking it away is pretty much impossible.
- Serve with a spoonful of raita or drizzle with a bit of heavy cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Hariyali chicken curry is a little different. In a really good way.
In a curry rut? Want to try something a little out of the ordinary? This is not your everyday curry.
It’s all about green chilies, mint and cilantro and spices. It’s a wonderful, medium spiced curry that’s really worth trying.
The secret is mint coriander chutney. Wrapped up in a lush hotel-style gravy. If you’ve never enjoyed a hariyali chicken curry, this is a good place to start.
Don’t fear the mint. It may not be the first thing that springs to mind when you think Indian. But it is an undertone flavour. And it works. Really well. Have faith!
Variety is the spice of life
There are around 15 curries on the average Indian restaurant menu. They are all good. But 15 curries? Really? There are a billion people in India. Thousands of years of history.
And that’s before thinking about regional cooking. Do you think it’s possible a billion people with thousands of years of history might have more than 15 dishes?
This makes me crazy. I rant about it too much. I know. Sorry. But there is so much to Indian cooking. And the world only cares about 15 dishes? Seems to me like maybe we are missing out.
Dare to be different. Take a road untravelled. Make hariyali chicken curry. You won’t regret it. Then make a nadan curry. Or a Ceylon curry. Mix it up! Your tastebuds will thank you.
Hotel style takes restaurant curries to a new level
I am an Indian food addict. There’s no doubt. Look around glebekitchen. There’s a lot of Indian here. I come by it honestly though. It’s my heritage. This is in my blood.
I’m a bit of a heretic though. I am not true to any one style. I love it all. Traditional is what I grew up eating. Home cooking. Comfort food. I have my favourite recipes posted.
I love restaurant as well. Lots of restaurant style recipes here. If you want to cook food like they serve at your favourite restaurant you won’t go wrong here.
But when I want the lush sauces you get with restaurant style. When I want the deep flavours of traditional Indian cooking. And I want it in one place. That’s when I pull out hotel style.
Hotel style is about bringing the depth of flavour you get in traditional food with that lush sauce you love at restaurants.
It’s how the best restaurants do it. The uber-posh ones. If you want crazy delicious, hotel style delivers. Try it. You’ll see.
Hariyali chicken curry is green chicken curry – according to someone, somewhere on the internet
Told you I was a heretic. Hariyali means green. Day-glo green if the pictures on the internet are to be believed.
I could have made this hotel style hariyali chicken green. Wouldn’t be hard. A good handful of spinach would do it.
But I didn’t. Because I’m about flavour. And I don’t think spinach works. Plus I don’t like day-glo food. But that’s me.
What I do like is flavours in balance. The green chili, cilantro and mint. The slightly sour tang of amchoor. The heat from the whole green chilies.
Not day-glo green. Sorry. But pure. Clean. Delicious.
That’s a tradeoff I can always get behind. Works for me. If you can get past the fact it isn’t bright green, I’m pretty sure this hariyali chicken curry is going work for you too.
Hariyali chicken curry – Indian hotel style
Ingredients
The spice mix
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp kasoor methi – dried fenugreek leaves
- 1/4 tsp amchoor powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
hariyali chicken curry
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil – any neutral oil is fine.
- 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste – recipe link below
- 2 green chilies – cut into 1 inch pieces
- the spice mix from above
- 1 cup Indian hotel curry gravy – don’t worry if it seem to thick. The juices from the chicken will thin it out.
- 2 tbsp mint coriander chutney – recipe link below or use store bought
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 3-4 pieces each
Instructions
Do your prep
- Make your spice mix. Dice your chilies. Prep your chicken.
- Always good to have everything ready to go when you are cooking Indian restaurant or hotel style.
Make the hariyali chicken curry
- Heat the oil in a medium sized frying pan until the oil just starts to shimmer.
- Stir in the garlic ginger paste. Gently fry until the garlic ginger paste stops sputtering. This is the only messy step.
- Add the green chilies. Cook another minute or so, stirring constantly (think stir fry).
- Turn your heat down to medium low and add your spice mix. Cook for about 30 seconds. You really want to fry your spices in the oil. Don’t skimp on the oil. Bad things happen if the spices stick and burn.
- Add the Indian hotel curry gravy. Stir it really well to get the oil to combine with the curry gravy. You want everything mixed together at this point. Bring to a simmer.
- Mix in the mint coriander chutney. Stir to combine.
- Add the chicken thigh pieces in a single layer. Nestle them down into the sauce. Cover and ccok about 5 minutes. Remove the cover, flip the chicken and recover. Cook until the chicken is done. Use an instant read thermometer if you have one. You are shooting for an internal temperature of 170F.
- The chicken will have thown it’s wonderful juices at this point. You have to decide if you like the consistency at this point. If you would like it a bit runnier add a couple tablespoons of water and stir.
- Hariyali chicken curry is great with rice or chapatis/parathas. Or both! A nice tarka dal and you have a feast.
