If I could eat just one soup all winter long, it would be this classic mulligatawny soup. Red lentils, fennel and carrots blend into a peppery, gingery, garlicky broth that's as comforting as it's healthy. Add a splash of coconut milk for a creamy, delicious finish!
Table of Contents
What is mulligatawny soup?
Mulligatawny is a curried lentil and vegetable soup with origins in colonial India. Its roots can be traced back to rasam, a spicy Tamil dal that is often consumed as a soup. The word "mulligatawny" itself - in the grand tradition of British colonists mispronouncing local words and then setting them as the standard - is a corruption of the Tamil words "milagu thanni" or "pepper water."
My mulligatawny soup is delicious, filling and comforting: a one-bowl meal. It has hints of sweetness from fennel and carrots, creaminess from coconut milk, spice from peppercorns, and smoky flavor from ground cumin. All ingredients in this soup, including black pepper, turmeric, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, are immunity boosters, so it does double-duty as a pick-me-up when someone at home has the sniffles.
This is an extremely easy recipe - there's not much that can go wrong here. Just make sure that the lentils and veggies are tender before you blend them up. The mulligatawny is soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free, and if you are cutting carbs, you can skip the potatoes. I love slurping the soup up on its own, and it's delicious with sourdough French bread or crusty bread. You can also serve it with brown rice.
You might also enjoy these recipes for lentil soup, Moroccan harira and dal soup with black lentils.
This soup is excellent! Extremely easy to put together but packed with flavor and a bit of a kick with the spices (I used tellicherry peppercorns which gave the soup a bit more complexity).
-Lisa H
Recipe card
Mulligatawny Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 4 cloves
- 1-inch piece cinnamon stick
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ tablespoon black peppercorns (reduce to up to a teaspoon if sensitive to heat, but don't skip)
- 1 small onion (finely chopped)
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 4 cloves garlic (minced or crushed)
- 1-inch knob ginger (finely chopped or crushed. You can replace the ginger and garlic above with 1 heaping tablespoon of ginger garlic paste)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne (use less if sensitive to heat, or skip)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1½ tablespoons besan (chickpea flour)
- 1 medium carrot (chopped in ½-inch pieces or rings)
- 1 small potato (diced in ½-inch cubes)
- 1 fennel bulb (or apple. Chopped)
- ½ cup red lentils
- 4-5 cups vegetable stock (or water with 2 teaspoon vegetable bouillon)
- ½ cup coconut milk
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (for garnish)
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
For serving
- White or brown rice
Instructions
- Soak the lentils in water before you begin the rest of the cooking. This is not absolutely necessary but it speeds up the time needed to tenderize the lentils a bit. Drain the lentils before you add them to the rest of the soup.
- Heat the coconut oil. Add the curry leaves followed by the whole spices--cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves and peppercorns. Saute for a couple of minutes over medium heat until fragrant.
- Stir in the onions and saute for 3-4 minutes until they soften but don't brown. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for a minute.
- Add the powdered spices: cayenne, turmeric, cumin and coriander. Stir to mix.
- Stir in the besan or chickpea flour and saute for a minute so it toasts.
- Add the vegetables to the pot--carrot, potato and fennel. Add a dash of salt and mix well. Saute for a couple of minutes.
- Add the lentils to the pot along with three cups of vegetable stock. I don't add all five cups of veg stock at once because it is a pain to get all that soupy stock into the blender. Instead, I add a cup or two more of stock while blending, which also helps cool down the soup a bit when added to the blender.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer, cover with a tight lid, and cook 10-15 minutes until all the veggies are tender and the lentils have cooked.
- Carefully, working in batches if needed, transfer the soup to a blender. You can also just use an immersion blender. Add a cup of stock and puree until very smooth.
- At this point you can strain the soup for an even silkier texture, but I prefer to just use it as is. Pour the soup back into the pot. Add up to a cup more water if needed--I add it as I like my mulligatawny on the soupy side. Bring to a boil, then stir in the coconut milk.
- Warm through without bringing to a boil. Turn off the heat and ladle into bowls. Top each bowl with rice, a bit of chopped cilantro and lemon zest and spritz on some lemon juice if you like.
Notes
- There are "sweet" vegetables in this recipe to tone down the pepper and other spices. Some cooks use apples, along with the onions and carrots, but I like to use a fennel bulb. Fennel seeds are used by some Indo-British cooks in mulligatawny and the fennel bulb replaces those -- and the apples -- nicely. This is also a great veggie to eat in the winter, when it's seasonal. If you absolutely can't use fennel, replace it with one green apple.
- Although this is not traditional, I like topping the soup with some lemon zest and even squirting on some lemon juice over the soup in the bowl while serving. The lemon gives an added vitamin C boost to protect from colds and viruses, helps mellow the heat down a bit more, and tastes wonderful.
Nutrition Information
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How to make mulligatawny soup
- Soak the lentils in water before you begin the rest of the cooking. This is not absolutely necessary but it speeds up the time needed to tenderize the lentils a bit. Drain the lentils before you add them to the rest of the soup.
- Heat the coconut oil. Add the curry leaves followed by the whole spices--cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves and peppercorns. Saute for a couple of minutes over medium heat until fragrant.
- Stir in the onions and saute for 3-4 minutes until they soften but don't brown.
- Add the ginger and garlic and saute for a minute.
- Add the powdered spices: cayenne, turmeric, cumin and coriander. Stir to mix.
- Stir in the besan or chickpea flour and sauté for a minute so it toasts.
- Add the vegetables to the pot--carrot, potato and fennel. Add a dash of salt and mix well. Sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Add the lentils to the pot along with three cups of vegetable stock. I don't add all five cups of veg stock at once because it is a pain to get all that soupy stock into the blender. Instead, I add a cup or two more of stock while blending, which also helps cool down the soup a bit when added to the blender.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer, cover with a tight lid, and cook 10-15 minutes until all the veggies are tender and the lentils have cooked.
- Carefully, working in batches if needed, transfer the soup to a blender. You can also just use an immersion blender. Add a cup of stock and puree until very smooth.
- At this point some would strain the soup, but I prefer to just use it as is. Pour the soup back into the pot. Add up to a cup more water if needed--I add it as I like my mulligatawny on the soupy side. Bring to a boil, then stir in the coconut milk.
- Warm through without bringing to a boil. Turn off the heat and ladle into bowls. Top each bowl with rice, a bit of chopped cilantro and lemon zest and spritz on some lemon juice if you like.
Mulligatawny soup FAQs
Mulligatawny was inspired by the south Indian dal, rasam, but it was adapted quite a bit by Indian chefs for the British palate. Both are lentil based soups and are meant to be spicy. But while rasam only usually has tomatoes added to it, mulligatawny often features multiple veggies. A rasam is also watery, made with the liquid strained out after cooking lentils. It does have some lentils, but very few. Mulligatawny soup is thicker and has more lentils. The spices used in the two recipes are also different, with some overlap.
I don't eat very spicy food, so this recipe is tailored to be only moderately spicy. For even less spice, reduce the amount of cayenne in the recipe. For more spice, add more cayenne and black pepper.
The fennel adds delicious and complex sweetness to the mulligatawny soup. If you can't use it, add an apple instead.
For a classic mulligatawny, I'd recommend sticking with the recipe. Indian spices are complex and spice mixes can't just replace any and all individual spices. However, if you cannot source the individual spices used here, you can add a teaspoon of curry powder or garam masala to the soup.
A classic mulligatawny is blended and creamy, and that's how I like this soup. Because we are using whole spices, it's also best to blend them into the soup for the best flavor. If you use a spice mix you can skip blending.
You can store the soup in the fridge for up to six days. You can freeze it for longer storage, but the coconut milk might appear grainy after freezing. It won't affect the flavor of the soup. Reheat the soup in the microwave or a saucepan until warmed through.
John Harkness says
I just made four gallons of this for our community free soup gathering, SoupForYou! It was one of those that at one point I thought I had a disaasster on my hands--too lemony. But with more stock, coconut and some adjustment of spices, it turned out wonderful. I am a bit concerned, though, about how you recommend putting cloves right in the soup (as I read it). That seems extremely dangerous to me. Instead, I followed directions, but then just used the stock I poured into the whole spice mixture as stock. If someone got a whole clove stuck in their throat, it could be quite painful and/or dangerous, no?
Vaishali says
Hi John, I am glad you made and enjoyed the soup. But it looks like you might have made some mistakes in understanding the recipe. For one, the lemon is added at the end, and there is just one lemon used for a fairly large batch of soup (8 servings). It is also optional or you can just use less lemon juice. Finally you need to blend the soup at the end, so there is no chance of cloves getting stuck in people's throats.
Rose says
This is one of my favorite soups I've ever made. I used a roasted sweet potato instead of a regular potato just because I had one on hand, so it was extra sweet, which I thoroughly enjoyed. 🙂
Vaishali Honawar says
So happy you loved it!
Julie Fish says
I am curious if you take out the leaves and cinnamon stick before you blend it. I see you can leave in the curry leaves, but not sure about the rest. I haven't tasted mine yet, but it smells delicious! Unfortunately I only put in about six curry leaves since I didn't know how much a sprig was. Next time!
Vaishali says
Hi Julie, you should leave them in for the best flavor!
Lexi says
I made this on the weekend and it is so delicious! It's so flavoursome and has quite a kick! I wasn't sure when to add the curry leaves in so I put them in when I added the lentils and stock and left them in there for blending. This is going to be a new staple in my household - thanks for sharing! 🙂
Vaishali says
Hi Lexi, the curry leaves go in right after the onions! Sorry about that oversight which has been corrected now, and so happy you enjoyed the recipe.
Julie in Asbury Park says
How many curry leaves is a sprig - 3 or 4? I keep mine in the freezer off the stem. I don't see them mentioned in the recipe. Do you take them out before you puree it?
Thank you - can't wait to try it!
Vaishali says
Hi Julie, it's about 16 leaves approx per sprig. Use 24-32 individual leaves in all. You can eat curry leaves--they are great for you and they blend nicely into the soup.
Let me know how it goes!
LisaH says
This soup is excellent! Extremely easy to put together but packed with flavor and a bit of a kick with the spices (I used tellicherry peppercorns which gave the soup a bit more complexity). I actually had all the ingredients on hand in my kitchen. Wish I had the fennel bulb, but I did have an apple.
Vaishali says
Hi Lisa, so happy you made it! I love Telicherry peppercorns--Costco used to carry them but I haven't been able to find them for a while now. Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the soup!
LisaH says
Yes, the peppercorns have been more difficult to find lately. I bought mine from https://thespiceway.com/collections/all They also sell decorticated green cardamom, which comes in handy.
LisaH says
My husband enjoyed this soup so much I made it again, but with the fennel bulb this time. Definitely prefer it with the fennel bulb. I to freeze some to have on hand for later, but we keep eating the leftovers! He prefers it without the coconut milk and I used some leftover plain unsweetened almond milk.
Bruce says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it tonight and it was delicious.
Vaishali says
Hi Bruce, so glad you made the soup! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂