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Mulligatawny Soup

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 10
Author Margaret Bose Johnson

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons (60ml) ghee or olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped onion 2 medium onions
  • 2 cups diced celery 4 to 5 stalks
  • 2 cups diced carrots 4 medium carrots
  • 2 tablespoons finely minced or grated fresh ginger
  • 2 tablespoons finely minced or grated garlic (6 cloves)
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder mild or medium heat level
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons fine sea salt plus up to 1½ teaspoons more, to taste
  • 2 large sweet-tart, firm-cooking apples, unpeeled, cored, and diced like Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Jonagold, Braeburn, Gala, Fuji
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 4 whole star anise pods
  • ½ cup (110gms) short grain rice
  • 1 can (19 oz/540m)l diced tomatoes with their juice
  • 8 cups (1.92litres) good quality chicken broth homemade or purchased
  • 4 cups (600gms) diced cooked chicken
  • 1 can (400ml) full-fat coconut milk

Instructions

  • Heat the ghee or olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and ginger, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
  • Add the garlic, curry powder, turmeric, thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper, and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring often.
  • Cut the apples into quarters and cut out the cores (leave the peels on). Cut each quarter into 4 wedges, then cut the wedges crosswise into 4 pieces each. Add the apples to the vegetables.
  • Add the bay leaves, star anise, rice, tomatoes, and chicken broth. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice during that time.
  • Add the diced chicken and cook for 5 more minutes.
  • Stir in the coconut milk. Taste the soup and add more salt if it needs it. The salt needed will depend on how salty your chicken broth was to start with - start by adding ½ teaspoon and keep adding more until it suits your taste.
  • Remove the bay leaves and star anise pods (or leave them in and let diners fish them out themselves) - they're not edible.
  • The mulligatawny soup tastes even better the next day, and also freezes well.
  • Makes about 5 quarts (10 servings of 2 cups each).

Notes

This soup makes a large potful, but it freezes well.
Star anise can be found in spice stores, import stores, or the Asian section of large supermarkets. The whole pods keep for several years, and you can also use them for making my famous chicken stock or killer gravy.
Cooked rotisserie chicken will work for this recipe, or bake or boil a few chicken breasts and thighs to use in the soup.