Mulligatawny Soup

Ever had apples in soup?? Delicious combination of flavors… chicken, curry, onions, garlic and apples. Creates a melding of wonderful savory, sweet & a tad spicy flavors to tickle your taste buds and satisfy your tummy! Comfort food extreme for sure in this soup!

Mulligatawny Soup

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
2 small onions, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons curry powder
6 cups water
1 tablespoon chicken soup base, preferably Better than Bouillon
¾ cup white or brown rice
2 large Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 cup milk, 1 or 2 %
3 tablespoons flour

Garnish: Chopped fresh parsley and extra apple cubes

Equipment Needed:

Cutting board
Chef knife
Measuring spoons
2 cup liquid measuring cup
Melon baller
Paring knife
6 - quart soup pot
Wire whisk
Rubber or Bamboo spatula
Soup ladle

I love soup and Mulligatawny has an amazing blend of spices and flavors that I adore! Mulligatawny is an English soup with Indian roots dating back to British occupation in India. Its name translates to “peppery- water”, due to the addition of curry. I don’t feel this recipe is truly peppery, but flavorful. On a cold fall or winter day, I start to crave the flavor combinations of chicken, spices and vegetables with sweet apples in this perfect soup! We used to go to a Galena, IL restaurant, Benjamin’s, on Saturdays that had Mulligatawny soup as their special. We would go just for the soup and one Sunday we bought all the leftovers from the day before! When the restaurant closed, I figured I better figure out how to make it! Super simple preparation too! Grab what you need and let’s make soup…

I totally enjoy the depth of flavors soups get from the vegetables used to create the broth base. Onions and garlic are aromatic vegetables I add to most every dish I prepare. Not only are they good for you, but they provide flavor and smell like no other ingredient! If you’re not a lover of onions or garlic now, cook them in a few dishes you don’t normally add them to and you will notice the difference right away. Many people don’t prepare onions correctly, so find them very sharp in flavor with a gritty texture.

1) In this recipe, start by dicing the onions, carrots and celery fairly small and mincing the garlic. Place the large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat for 3 – 5 minutes to begin the cooking process. Add the butter and sauté these ingredients for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2) Sprinkle the sautéing vegetables with salt, pepper and oregano, stir to combine. While the veggies are cooking in the pot, slice and cube the chicken breast into pieces about ¾-inch in size and set aside.

Now it’s time to create your broth!

3) After about 5 minutes, the vegetables will have brightened in color. Add the cubed chicken and water to the pot and bring to a boil. I love a rich chicken flavor and since I use only skinless chicken breasts in most of my soups, I add a bit of chicken soup base. Chicken skin adds fat and flavor to soups, so unless I want to make broth ahead of time and skim off the fat, I add soup base. Kind of a cheaters way of making flavorful broth in less time.

4) At this time, you will also add the rice, turmeric and curry powder. These spices add a wonderful golden color too, as well as flavor. Keep the soup mixture at a low simmer for 10 – 12 minutes for white rice (about 25 for brown rice). While the rice is cooking… begin the apple prep!

Apples are a key ingredient that sets this soup apart from all the rest! I prefer using Granny Smith apples, but any apple with a tart, sweet flavor will do.

5) Start by peeling the apples first and then cutting them in half. Next step is to core the apples. I love using a melon baller for this process as it does the job with less apple waste. I watched my hero, Alton Brown use this technique once on his show Good Eats, and always use a melon baller now! Sometimes a paring knife is needed to trim excess apple skins and stems too, as shown above.

6) Once your apples are cored, place them flat side down on the cutting board and slice them horizontally into ½ inch strips. Turn them around and then the slice the opposite direction to create small, even cubes of apple.

7) Add these to the simmering soup and continue simmering for about 10 minutes. The apples will float until they cook and soften.

While the apples are simmering, prepare your milk slurry for the final step. To save dishes, I often use a larger measuring cup so I can measure and mix in one utensil. If you don’t have a large cup, using a small bowl is fine. Flour for thickening should always be added to a cold liquid to avoid the creation of lumps.

8) Measure the low-fat milk and add the flour to the cup. Stir with a wire whisk until mixture is smooth. While stirring the hot soup, pour in the milk slurry and combine well. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, as the soup starts to thicken slightly and create a wonderful texture. By now the rice should also be plump and tender.

Doesn’t this soup smell yummy and look amazing? Make sure to taste your final product and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Garnish each bowl with a bit of chopped parsley and a few apple cubes…if you like… Enjoy!!