Chicken Mulligatawny Soup (Curried Soup)

Mulligatawny Soup is a curried soup that is literally translated as "pepper water".  A few months ago, a Facebook friend shared a mulligatawny recipe she found and really enjoyed from an Australian magazine.  That sparked my interest  and I wanted to recreate my own Mulligatawny Soup with some of my own tricks and shortcuts.  I opted to use a store bought rotisserie chicken instead of boiling one myself and making my own stock.  Although I agree making your own stock always brings the soup a very rich flavor,  I think I achieved something similar with my shortcuts.  My husband was buzzing around the kitchen when I was cooking this soup and he was not sure if he would like a soup that was based on curry.  But when he took his first spoonful he exclaimed that it was really good and then proceeded to eat two bowls worth.  Yup, yet another convert to the Mulligatawny Soup. :) 

 Ingredients:
3-4 cups of diced rotisserie chicken (white and/or dark meat)
1 cup of diced onions
1 cup of diced celery
1 cup of diced carrots
1 cup of diced zucchini
2 cups cups of diced potatoes
1 cup of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of red masoor lentils
1 cinnamon stick
2 Tbs of ginger and garlic paste
1Tbs of Curry Powder
1 tsp of Garam Masala
1 tsp of ground fennel
1/2 tsp of turmeric
1tsp of red chili flakes (or to taste)
1/2 tsp of poultry seasoning (optional)
1 can of coconut milk (15oz)
6-8 cups of chicken broth (or water/bullion equivalent).  I used both.
Juice of one lime (to taste)
1-2 Tbs of Worcestershire sauce
1-2 Tbs of mango chutney
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 cups of fresh spinach chopped

Note:  This soup really needs to be cooked to your taste.  You want the salt and spice to work for your palate.  Remember you can always add more spice/salt if needed.  Also if you add too much just add some water to balance it out. 

Directions:

In a large soup pot, add 2Tbs of canola oil on high heat.  Add your carrots, onions, celery, zucchini and cinnamon stick to saute for 3-4 minutes.  Then add your ginger garlic paste.  If you do not have ginger garlic paste, substitute 3 cloves of ginger and 1 inch of ginger grated.

Then add your rinsed red lentils, tomatoes and spices. Saute for 1-2 minutes.  Now add your chicken broth and worcestershire sauce. Boil for 15-20 minutes until the lentils and veggies are fully cooked.

Use an immersion blender and blend soup until smooth (or do it in batches in a standard blender).  Note: remove cinnamon stick before you blend.  Next add your diced potatoes.  Simmer soup for another 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.  Finally add your coconut milk, diced rotisserie chicken, chutney and spinach.  Taste for seasoning here.  If you have too much flavor, add more water.  If you need more salt add more bullion or salt.   Finally add some lime juice before serving.

Serve and enjoy. You can serve over rice if you like.

PS.. I wish my pictures could do justice to this soup. It's very hard to take pictures of a brown soup and make it look as appetizing as it really tastes.

 
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