Mulligatawny

Mulligatawny is a traditional Indian, curry flavored soup. I first tried it at White Tiger on Capitol Hill, and that's still my favorite version of it. The recipe I used comes from guiltykitchen.com. My version was definitely not as good as some that I've had in restaurants, but it was still okay. I think that that the big mistake I made was the type of coconut milk I used. I accidentally bought some Trader Joe's light coconut milk, instead of the regular stuff. Real coconut milk would have added a bit more thickness, which my version was lacking. If you try this recipe yourself, make sure you get the right stuff.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 granny smith apple (or other tart apple), peeled, cored and diced
1″ piece fresh ginger, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp tumeric
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2-1 tsp crushed chiles (optional, if you want it spicy. Adjust to taste.)
1 cup brown rice
1 400ml can coconut milk (shake the can well before opening)
1 1/2 litres chicken stock, low sodium
1 14oz can diced tomatoes or 1/2 lb. fresh diced tomatoes, seeded and peeled
2 precooked chicken breasts, diced (I marinated the chicken with some olive oil and a blend of the same spices used for the soup.
juice of one lemon
salt to taste
sour cream and cilantro to garnish (optional)

Directions:
1. In  a large stock pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add vegetables, apple, ginger and garlic and sauté until translucent.

2. Add spices and rice, stir and cook 2 minutes.

3. Pour in stock, tomatoes and coconut milk. Stir and bring to boil. Lower to a simmer and cook for one hour, stirring every ten minutes or so to prevent the rice from burning. (I sauteed the diced chicken breast while the soup was simmering.)

4. Add chicken breasts 15 minutes before done and finish with lemon juice to enliven the flavours.

5. Garnish with sour cream and chopped cilantro if desired.

The Results: