I made this recipe a few weeks ago and planned to post a recipe review, so I took all the pictures. Then I realized that I couldn't post it because it came from a recipe book! I emailed the publisher to ask for permission to post the recipe here but I didn't hear back from them... until a few days ago. Thankfully, they gave me the go-ahead to share the recipe. (I don't like to post reviews of recipes that aren't freely available.)
This recipe is from "How it all vegan!", a vegan cookbook by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer. It's an old book that I got from a thrift store.
The name of this recipe, Mulligatawny Soup, caught my eye at first; and then when I read the ingredients, I thought it sounded super interesting. It was unlike any other recipe I'd seen before, but it still used common ingredients (nothing weird in this one!). The coconut was especially intriguing.
A google search just now showed me that it's not unusual at all--Mulligatawny is a common Indian dish. This particular recipe, however, is different from the few that I looked at, so I have no idea how authentic this is.
This cookbook is kind of fun to cook from because there are no pictures. Normally, I like cookbooks with pictures for every recipe! But to make something with a weird name and not having any clue what it's going to look like in the end was kind of fun.
Here is a printer-friendly version, if you want to skip my beautiful food photography ;)
First, the ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. curry powder
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
6 cups vegetable stock
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 large potatoes, cut in cubes
1/2 cup rice
1 small red pepper, diced
1 small green pepper, diced
1 small tomato, diced
1 cup cauliflower, sliced
3/4 cup grated coconut
3 tsp. lemon juice
3 tsp. cilantro (optional)
A lot of ingredients, but nothing strange! It didn't specify to use sweetened or unsweetened coconut, so I just assumed unsweetened and that's what I used. Also, I chose not to use the cilantro. As usual when I make new recipes, I prepped all of the ingredients first so that I didn't have to rush while cooking.
The "vegetable stock" powder I have is a homemade blend (recipe can be found here). I just add it with water for the vegetable stock in recipes; it's easier than having containers of stock around!
I thought it was a bit awkward to slice the cauliflower instead of cut it into small florets (and if making it again, I would choose to do the florets).
First, you sauté the onions and celery in oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until the onions are translucent.
Then you add the spices, soy sauce, veggie stock, carrots, potatoes, and rice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add the peppers, tomato, cauliflower, coconut, lemon juice, and cilantro. Stir together and simmer 5-10 more minutes until vegetables are tender.
Remove half of the soup and purée in a blender or food processor.
Then pour it back in the soup pot and stir to mix it all together.
And this is what it looked like when it was done:
Thoughts? It was very good! It was surprisingly creamy, considering there weren't cashews or coconut milk in it. To me, it tasted like a smooth, spicy curry. The curry powder I have is on the spicy side, so the spice level may vary, depending on the brand of curry you use. I loved all the different textures and I thought all of the flavors went together really well.
I can't remember if the kids ate it, but I know Jerry and I both really liked it, and we each had leftovers the next day. The creaminess and the spice made me think that it's the perfect winter comfort-soup. Next time, I'll make some bread to go with it. It's a great soup to make when you've got some veggies to use up! I think I may add some tofu next time, too--because everything is better with tofu ;)
