A pepper vegetable soup with lentils, so so good and perfect for cold weather. Vegetarian Mulligatawny – Spiced Vegetable Pepper Soup
One of the main things that makes me smile about this soup is its name. The word is derived from Tamil (South Indian language). Mulliga means pepper, and tawny/tanni means water. I speak that language, so you can imagine why I find it slightly amusing.
I have had my share of this soup in restaurants, not because I love soups, but only because I was intrigued by the name. Because soups were not part of meals growing up, we were adventurous and just had to start off very daintily with a soup at restaurants. When a bowl of soup was kept in front of us, I always had this expression: like how could this be pepper water? Some served it with a mango relish, some were soupier and had tomatoes in it. Chicken broth was used in many and chunks of chicken were found in some. I even had mulligatawny soup once which was so bombarded with cream that I wanted to chat with the chef. Honestly though, I have no clue what the original was and how it came about.
I am assuming that it really took a lot of turns and twisted in translation. Nevertheless, this is a ridiculously good soup in all it’s forms (except for the cream filled one).
My theory if any of you are wondering is, not going too deep into History lessons, is: the Britishers, while they were ruling the Southern part of India, loved Rasam (a tangy tamarind based soup) and Sambhar (a thicker lentils and vegetable curry) which was served with rice. They loved both, but those soup like dishes weren’t for the faint-hearted. They were both spicy. So, to make it less spicy and more to suit their palette, the Mulligatawny came about. A mix of pepper based rasam, with the vegetables and daal(lentils) from the sambhar.
The variations are endless. Vegetarian Mulligatawny – Spiced Vegetable Pepper Soup is a very popular one in restaurants. I haven’t had this soup in a restaurant in ages as I make my own now and home made is always a good choice. My version is what I think is a good balance of many soups of this kind I’ve had, with my own touches.
This is a vegetarian Mulligatawny – Spiced Vegetable Pepper Soup, but you can use chicken stock and chicken chunks and it would be delicious. Also, the lentils you use are completely up to your liking. The key to this dish is the curry powder, the pepper, and the vegetables. You will see that almost all the time apple is used, and it works to cut the pepper bite a bit. Frying the the onion, pepper and jalapeno (optional) in oil makes it sweeter and utterly delicious when you grind up everything.
After you add the sweet potato, which I think gives this soup a nice creamy touch, brown the veggies and apples a bit to caramelize it, adding a different layer of complexity. I grind the soup not too smoothly and like to keep a bit of the unmashed daal, so I can add it for texture later. The light coconut milk is definitely a must to make this dish. It adds sweetness and creaminess without overpowering all other flavors. The toppings are all what you love, serve it with rice, fried leek, and onions on top, the Indian fried snacks are a great touch for crunch. This is truly a warm and cozy meal for the winters.
If you make this Vegetarian Mulligatawny – Spiced Vegetable Pepper Soup, definitely tag on social media and let me know.
Here are some of my favorite vegetable soups, beet rasam and Khow Suey. Both are favorites.
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tsp chopped ginger
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- ½ onion finely chopped onion
- 1 jalapeno thinly sliced
- 1 carrots diced
- ½ apple diced
- ½ sweet potato diced
- 4 cups Vegetable stock(good quality, no sodium or home made is best)
- 1 cup boiled mix of channa daal and tuvar daal(you can pressure cook the lentils for 3 whistles or cook in pan for 40 minutes until soft)
- ½ tsp curry powder or garam masala(very good quality)
- Salt
- ½ cup coconut milk light(not thick at all)
- 1 tbsp ghee/browned butter
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ cup sliced leeks
- ½ onion thinly sliced
- Cooked Brown rice or white rice or quinoa
- Cilantro chopped
- fried lentils(Indian chickpea and fried lentil) ( optional) You can find them made in Indian grocers or in a regular grocer in the Asian isle.
- toasted chopped cashew
- Keep a large soup pot on medium high heat. Add the vegetable oil, and let it get hot. Add black pepper, chopped ginger, garlic, onion and jalapeno. Fry it until the onion slightly becomes soft, for a minute. Then add the carrots, apple, and potato. Fry it and saute for 2 minutes to brown it slightly to caramelize it.
- Then add the vegetable stock, garam masala powder/ curry powder and check for salt. Add the cooked lentils/daal. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the carrots, the sweet potatoes have cooked thoroughly. Let cook for a bit.
- Once lightly cooked grind blend all of the soup except for ½ cup(to keep it a bit chunky) with a hand blender or regular blender.
- Pour the blended soup with the remaining. Gently pour the coconut milk. Mix everything well and bring it to boil for 2-3 minutes.
- In a small pan, add the brown butter, put the cumin and let it brown and add the leeks and onion and fry them with a pinch of salt. Let it get brown and turn off the heat and keep aside.
- SERVE hot in bowls. Top it with some fried leek and onion, cooked rice, chopped cashew, cilantro and some fried snacks.
Making vegetable stock at home is simple. Add the vegetable with some spices(pepper, bay leaf, cumin, salt) and water. Boil for an hour and reserve the water for the stock.
Have a Beautiful Week my dear friends!!!
Luv
Ash.
Stunning post, Asha! Loved reading about the history of the soup and your pictures are as usual simply drool-worthy!!
Thank you so much Bina, means a lot. Have a good day.
xx
This soup looks so gorgeous and ah! the name and it’s a Tamil soup ?
Thanks much Rekha!!
Yup, the name:).
Nice history of the soup. As usual lovely pictures. I enjoyed reading.
Thank you so so much Mom. Interesting soup eh’. Thanks again and I will make it when I come there.
Hugs and Kisses.
xx
You have christened the soup so apt…usually my kids reject any lentil soup as it tastes the same as dal to them,but this one is worth a try.
SO so true, kids can be very right. I hope you try to make this, and more than that hope they love it.
xo
I always find it difficult to pronounce this soup…hahaa! Stunning post n so nice to hear the history behind the soup?? I’m looking forward to try this soup with Apple and so many interesting flavors!!
Haha, you definitely are not alone, I still find it hard to pronounce it. 😉
The Apple is definitely something interesting but It’s something that cuts down the peppery taste a bit. Such a nice touch.
xo
Oh I love this post Asha! All of us in India have of course heard of mulligatawny but I never knew the history behind it. I loved reading about it. Your pictures are stunning!
Thank you so so much my dear. Means a lot to me. It is interesting, isn’t it?!
Hugs.xx
Love this post Asha! What a fabulous blog you have with absolutely drop dead gorgeous photography and amazing recipes. Everything is beautifully and thoughtfully composed. Thank you for sharing. xx
Aren’t you a darling to stop by and comment and say such sweet words. You made my day and you are so kind.
I really appreciate it.
xoxo
This soup sounds amazing and I love your photos! Pinning now!
Thanks for the pin and you are so kind.
Never had this soup ever! And it looks so heathy and delicious with all the toppings! Amazing! Enjoyed the history of this soup! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Amisha. Love this one too. xo
I’ve heard of this soup from TV shows but have never seen it on a restaurant menu or had it. I love hearing you talk about it and I know your version is amazing. I have rarely met a soup I didn’t love but I can almost taste all the love and thought you put into it. Lovely.
You are so kind. Soups are just so warming and nice on winter days. This really is so interesting and so simple in a way.
Happiest week my dear.
xo
I had no clue what Mulligatawny meant, so thank you for sharing that. Now I totally understand why the name of this soup gave you a good chuckle! I am LOVING your version of this Asha! All the flavors just sound beyond delicious and like the absolute perfect way to stay warm! And your gorgeous photos have me drooling all over the place! PINNED! I can’t wait to try this, my dear! Cheers! xo
Thanks for the pin my friend. This is just a simple soup with a name so hard to pronounce;). It’s a simple soup but so so good for you and comforting.
Hope you are doing well hun.
xx
It looks so pretty! Especially with all the garnishes. I love soup. It’s such a hearty and flavorful way to satisfy your appetite. And Indian soups are unparalleled for their flavor. So much flavor! My mom makes daal chawal palitha, which includes a sambar like soup. It’s my favorite soup ever. I always see Mulligatawny soup on menus at restaurants, but I’ve never actually tried it. I’m definitely tempted now.
xx Yasmin
http://banglesandbungalows.com
I have to agree with you on that, unparalleled for sure. Oh wow, that daal chawal palitha sounds yummy, mom’s cooking alwyas is the best. I really feel that the restaurants don’t do justice to this soup. I’ve had some years ago in very good places in India and nothing compares to that here unless we try making it at home. Please do try it out.
xx
Oh, Asha your rendition of Mulligatawny soup is absolutely GORGEOUS! I love the coloring of yours – simply love it! And I love the smoothness too. All the times I’ve had mulligatawny soup, it never occurred to me that it could be a mix of Rasam and Sambhar – and the funny thing is that when we are at my mom’s, I usually end up mixing her Rasam with store bought Sambhar but never thought that the two together could be Mulligatawny but now totally see and agree with your theory!
Gorgeous gorgeous photos my friend!
How interesting that you used to mix rasam with sambhar. The thing the teen said was it’s a mix of both and got me thinking.
Hope you are enjoying your day my dear.
xx
Mulligatawny…a new one for me. It surely looks very delicious and comforting!
Thanks so so much Angie. It sure is.
xx
Wow what a wonderful soup Asha, packed with so much goodness! Pinning!
Thanks so much my dear.Thanks for the pin.
I love your cute little soup bowls. This recipe looks so delicious! Great photos.
Thanks Fallon, they are quite new although they look vintage.
Thanks xx
Wow! Thank you for sharing the history of Mulligatawny, Ash. No wonder you chuckled at the name! Pepper water? 😉 There is no doubt in my mind that you took the very best from the finest Mulligatawny recipes to create your own exceptional spin. I love how you processed the soup but then added back in a bit of texture, used coconut milk to make it creamy, for a dreamy bowl of wintertime soup. Stunning styling and photography, my friend. Thanks for sharing and have a fabulous week ahead! xo P.S. I love that your Mom dropped by to comment. 🙂
Stacy, this is such an interesting soup with so many versions. Thanks so so much, I really try hard to get the recipes just right.
You are kind,thanks for noticing. Mama, visits and reads everything. Feel so blessed my dear.
Hope you are enjoying your week.
xoxo
I could probably eat this soup by the gallons…no joke. The flavors in here are awesome. All up my alley of course. I can’t wait to visit India some day and dive into all the food, flavors and culture. It is one of my favorite cuisines so I shall visit the country one day for sure. Your pictures always stunning, and yes the name of this soup, I have never seen it before 🙂
I really hope you get to visit India sometime. It’s so different in every state, the food the culture all with a common thread. Thanks so much, I really appreciate you kind words Miriam. This is a daal soup, quite good.
xx
I heard about this soup some years ago but unfortunately have not tried it yet. Your recipe (and photos) look so temping. Going to Pin it and hopefully give it a try soon. Thank soft sharing!
Love this soup! And always wondered about its name. Thanks for filling in that blank for me! Never met a version of this soup that I didn’t like, but yours looks particularly nice. Superb, even. 🙂 Thanks!
I’ve heard of this soup but had no idea it had Indian origins. Delicious ingredients. GREG
This comfort in a bowl!!!! Love the pics and food styling as well.
Ash this looks divine!! And I had no idea how mulligatawny soup came about so thank you for that. Also I love saying Mulligatawny-it rolls off the tongue in a really satisfying way 🙂
Beautiful photos, Ash — I just want to grab a bowl and start eating! The name is intriguing — I’ve never had this soup before, but I certainly want it!
Thank you for teaching me about this warming soup, Asha! The ingredient list is making we want to make this ASAP and it’s on the list! I’ve never had mulligatawny and had no clue of it’s origins. I looked up Chaana dal to see what it was! I always learn something new from you. Thank you! I can’t wait to give this a go. Picking up the ingredients this weekend! (loving your photography too… just so moody and warm, effortless). xo
Hi Asha! I made your recipe last night, served it with naan and we loved it so much! It was creamy, spicy but not too much, sweet rich undertones… the crunch of the cashews with crispy leeks and cilantro was the perfect texture and flavor balance to this rich creamy soup. Even my picky eater husband enjoyed it. He took it today for lunch! Thank you so much for this delicious, and quick recipe. I’ll be making this again and again! xo
Yaay! Feel so proud reading about our language and cuisine …when I shared the story behind the name of the soup and it’s tamil origin with my children, they were so amazed! Awesome soup and it tastes great! Perfect for winters .Next time when I make it I will serve it like you Asha. The bowls look so tempting and wholesome !
What an amazing, hearty, filling dish! Thank you so much for the wonderful insight into south Indian cuisine, much appreciated! We always love to read about the cultural aspect of authentic dishes. Kudos!
Can’t wait to try this one! Pinned!
xoxoxo