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Mulligatawny: The soul of Anglo-Indian food
It was a cloudy day and it looked like rain would make its appearance very soon. The weather made one lethargic to any work; sitting around and indulging in kitty talk seemed like the better option.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
Recently, a group of women gathered in a cafe in Chennai, set amid a lot of greenery and natural beauty. They all adorned soft silks and chiffons. Their diamonds and pearls sparkled in the sunlight as they sat around sipping exotic cocktails, while the menu and other matters were thrown open for discussion. This was a typical kitty party, which has become part and parcel of every city in India now.
This is also the hand-me-down from British times when the army wives gathered together once a month to play whist or tombola and exchange gossip and have a great lunch. The soup was a fashionable start to their lunch and Mulligatawny was very popular and a dieter’s choice as it was a meal by itself. Mulligatawny was first introduced by an Indian khansama during the British Raj and was a spin on the popular rasam.
Mulligatawny — the soup of an empire — is a dish that exemplifies the heydays of the British Empire. It became most popular in all the officer’s clubs and barrack kitchens. The name is derived from milagu, meaning pepper in Tamil and tawny or thanni, meaning water. It was around the late 17th century that the soup was mentioned for the first time in a poem written by a British soldier post the war with Tippu Sultan. He writes, “…On Mulligatawny we dine, keeping fine and konjee in the Bangalore jail, which soothes.”
It is believed that a chef named Appaswamy working at the prestigious Madras Club, came up with the basic structure of the soup. Then, it made its way into many homes and travelled all the way to England to become part of the menu in many restaurants and homes. The sun set on this dish when the British left India but was soon revived in the early 1950s as one of the popular and tasty dishes of Anglo Indian food.
Though it normally contains vegetable kanji, vegetables and tomato broth, rice, pasta or lentils have been added to it since. Editions like paneer or soya chunks in the vegetarian and chicken pieces in the non-vegetarian soup also started making appearances.
Mulligatawny soup
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 55 mins
Total Cook time: 1 hr 15 min
Serves: 4
Calories per serve: 390 Calories
Ingredients
Vegetable oil: 11/2 tbsp.
Shallots (diced): 5
Ginger (minced): 11 gms
Garlic (minced): 6 cloves.
Green chilly (minced): 1
Cardamom seeds: 1/4 tsp.
Cinnamon stick: 1
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp.
Cumin powder: 1 tsp.
Coriander powder: 11/2 tsp.
Gram Red bell peppers (diced): 1/4 cup.
Bay leaf: 1
Black peppercorns: 6
Red lentils (masoor dal) soaked for an hour: 100 gms or ¼ cup.
Coconut milk: 1/2 cup
Lime: 1/2 a lime squeezed
Tamarind pulp: 1 tsp.
Vegetable stock/non veg stock: 31/2 cups.
Rajma/white Kabuli channa: soaked overnight cooked ¼ cup
Paneer /soya pieces: 1/4 cup for vegetarian soup
Boneless chicken small cubes: 1/ 4 cup for non veg soup
Cooked rice or cooked fettuccine pasta: 1/2 cup
Carrots, grated: 1 tbsp.
Potato, grated: 1
To season Salt and pepper
Fresh coriander leaves chopped fine: 1 tbsp.
Fresh butter: 1 tbsp.
Tomato puree: 1 cup.
Method
- Heat pan with the vegetable oil, saute the shallots, ginger, garlic and green chilies.
- Add all the spices, whole and powdered and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Place another pan; add the butter and sauté the paneer/chicken cubes for a few minutes. If it is chicken, sauté till almost done and for paneer, cook for 3 min.
- Add a little pepper and salt to it.
- Add it to the soup brewing.
- Add the soaked lentils, potato and carrots and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add tomato puree and sauté for 2 min.
- Add the Kabuli channa
- Add the vegetable stock/chicken broth and tamarind pulp and simmer till all the vegetables, paneer/chicken and lentils are cooked.
- Add salt and other seasonings like cumin, pepper and so on.
- Blend half the soup into a smooth puree
- Add that with the other half. Sauté for a few minutes.
- Add the coconut milk, fresh coriander leaves and lime juice to finish the soup.
- Serve hot with garlic bread.
Kitchen Tip
- If you keep a piece of blotting paper at the bottom of the container, it will keep biscuits fresh for a longer time.
- Apply some lemon juice on the cut surface of the apple to avoid browning. They will look fresh for a longer time.
- Slit karelas at the middle and apply a mixture of salt, wheat flour and curd all round. Keep aside for ½ hour and then cook.
— Chef Ramaa Shanker is the author of Festive Offerings to the Gods: Divine Soul Recipes
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