Mulligatawny Soup

"Little drop of soup, Miss Sophie?"

"I am particularly fond of mulligatawny soup, James...I think we'll have sherry with the soup."
"Sherry with the soup? Yes... oh, by the way, the same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?"
"Same procedure as every year, James."

dialogue from "Dinner for One"

This first time I made Mulligatawny Soup it was a novelty. 1979 it was. One and Two were just 3 and 5 years old. I can't remember if they raved about it, I suspect not, but I had fun making it. Whoever heard of apples in a soup? I was intrigued. The 1979 recipe came from a calendar my sister had given me for Christmas. It had a chicken base and different vegetables and spices, but similar. The little note on the calendar about the soup said it is a recipe the British and Scottish soldiers, who had been serving in India, brought home to their own homeland. I'm sure Curry was an adventure for them.

This recipe comes from the Gluten-Free Goddess. If you are looking for vegan recipes, she is a good source. Her blog is organized with a capital O. I love her. I am determined to make her gluten-free bread. So far, I am not getting just the right mix for my climate and oven. But stay tuned. I'm ready for a sandwich. Can't have a sandwich, a real one, without a good gluten-free light, airy bread. She tells me that I have to throw out everything I ever knew about baking. Since I know very little about the science of baking, it cleared out little space in my brain.

Here is Mulligatawny Soup from Karina Allrich:

A note: if you watch the food network you know that Rachel Ray always has a waste bowl handy. This is a good time to think about that. I have a compost bin and today's recipe made a nice contribution of veggie scrapes for the bin. And take Alton Brown's advice and read through the recipe and gather EVERYTHING before you start. It is common sense I suppose, but I have to remind myself everyday that that little effort makes all the difference.

3 Tbls olive oil
2-3 tsp curry power
1 tsp cumin
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 med sweet onion, peeled, diced
5 cloves garlic
2 med carrots, scrubbed and diced
1 cup cauliflower florets, chopped
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 med sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 heaping Cups thinly shredded cabbage
1 qt vegetable broth
14 oz can tomatoes with juice
14 oz can chick peas, drained
salt to taste

14 oz can coconut milk, stirred
juice of 1 med lime
1 tsp agave nectar or brown sugar

Get everything ready. Measure the spices, do all the chopping and can opening in advance and the whole thing is a breeze to make. The Coconut milk and the lime and the sugar are added after the vegetables are tender. Think about a garnish. This soup is not beautiful. I curled some carrot and added a bit of parsley for aesthetics.

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a 4 quart pot. Add the curry, cumin and cayenne and stir for 1 minute. Savor the fragrance.

Add the onion, garlic, carrots, cauliflower, apples, sweet potato and cabbage, and saute until softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in the broth, tomatoes and chick peas; season with salt as needed. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, cover and simmer the soup, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Add the coconut milk, lime juice and sugar. Stir well. Taste for seasoning adjustments. (NO double dipping with the tasting spoon.) Heat through gently; don't boil.

This is my note. The soup needs garnishing to appeal to your guests. And in spite of all those vegetables, I felt that it wouldn't be right to serve without a salad. Something green. And after curry, a fresh pear for dessert would be nice, to clean the palette.