This soup is an example of how different something can be today from what it started out to be. Our humble rasam or ‘milagai thanni’ has turned into something totally different over a period of time. Mulligatawny is served now as a thick soup, spiced with curry powder with vegetarian and non vegetarian options.

For the third day of January BM, this soup is inspired from the San Francisco Soup company take away menu. Their description of this soup is “A lightly seasoned curried Chicken and Lentil soup with Apples, Carrots, Celery and Coconut Milk. ” Garnish suggestion is rice and cilantro.

Based on this I searched for a recipe that came close to this description. The one I found online had chickpeas, carrots, celery and coconut milk. My pantry had only red kidney beans, no carrots and no coconut milk. Yet I went ahead and prepared it with suitable substitutions. The soup with apples and sweet potatoes was shunned by the man. He dislikes the combination of sweet and savory in the same dish. If you are in that category, give this a skip. But if you are like me and love the idea of an easy all in one soup, this one is for you.

Read on for the recipe.

Recipe adapted from : Vegetarian Mulligatawny

Ingredients:

• one teaspoon oil
• one chopped onion
• one teaspoon ginger garlic paste
• 1-2 carrots, diced (I didn’t have any)
• 4 sticks of celery, chopped
• 1 cup cooked potatoes/ sweet potatoes
• 1 diced apple
• 1 can red kidney beans or cooked chick peas
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon each turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and chilli powder (OR 1 teaspoon curry powder)
• salt and pepper
• Cooked basmati rice, to serve

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan. Saute onions, followed by the ginger garlic paste. Add the diced carrots, chopped celery and potatoes.
2. Add the spices – turmeric powder, cumin, coriander and chilli powders (OR curry powder). Cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add 6 cups of stock or water. Add the diced apple, kidney beans or chick peas. Season per taste.
4. Let it come to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Taste test and adjust seasonings.
5. At the time of serving, you can add some coconut milk and lemon juice, if preferred. I didn’t.
6. Serve on top of some cooked basmati rice.
7. Garnish ideas: a dollop of yogurt, cilantro, raisins, chopped nuts.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#60