Perfect for
5:2 Fast Day and Weight Watchers
Hot on the heels of my last “healthy” new year recipe for 5:2 Diet & WW Chicken Mergeuz Meatballs, which has proved to be very popular, is my latest creation,“Snowy Day” Vegetarian Mulligatawny Soup. Today’s recipe was made yesterday, for a cold and snowy day here in North Yorkshire, where a big bowl of something tasty and steaming hot was needed for lunch. I am staying with my mum at the moment, and she is vegetarian, so, it was a great excuse to develop and create a meat-free Mulligatawny style soup; we all love spicy food in my family, and my dad was a wizard with the spice rack, with his prawn curry being the pièce-de-résistance of his culinary repertoire. I love the classic meaty mulligatawny soup, and even the tinned ones have a certain appeal too, but a meat-free version has to be just as good, as it’s the spices that count in this Indian soup recipe.
The British have always been fond of highly spiced food, a taste which can be traced back in our cooking to medieval times, and which can be seen today in our pungent commercially prepared sauces and mustards. This tasty curried broth belongs to the early nineteenth century and is part of the heritage of the British Raj. British people who spent years in India grew to love the local spicy food and brought back their favourite recipes which were adapted in the Victorian kitchen. “Pepper Water” was the nearest thing to soup in the cuisine of India, and indeed the word mulligatawny comes from the Tamil words molegoo (pepper) and tunes (water). It was originally a vegetarian ‘sauce’, but the British added meat and various other ingredients to create a variety of mulligatawny soups, which were popular in India and Ceylon, but had an extremely bad press back home in England! And, so you see, a veggie version is more authentic than I originally thought.
My job was made MUCH easier with the help of my new OXO Easy Grips Vegetable Chopper and Silicone Lemon Squeezer. I chopped all of the vegetables and the apple in a trice, and the lemon was squeezed in a jiffy too, with the silicone squeezer, and with no pips. The vegetable chopper has an easy pour opening, which means that the veggies are just poured straight into the pan. I washed the chopper by hand in soapy water, but the chopper is also dish-washer proof. The chopper had no problems at all with the vegetables (and fruit) I used in today’s recipe…..which were onions, carrots, parsnips and apples. The other great thing about this, is when chopping onions, there are NO TEARS! The stainless steel blade pattern and recessed cutting area keeps food in place while the lid provides leverage for efficient chopping, it’s really all so easy and very convenient.
The soup was wonderful, very filling and beautifully spiced with an added sweetness of the apple and mango chutney. Serve this meat-free mulligatawny with extra rice and chutney, and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Each comforting bowl is a lovely light and low 215 calories, or 245 calories with an extra dollop of mango chutney if you wish. If calories are not an issue, than serve this soup with naan bread and assorted sambals such as grated coconut, diced cucumber, diced tomatoes, sultanas and peanuts on the side, as you would with a traditional mulligatawny. I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as we did, and if you really want to “beef it up” then you can of course add some shredded cooked chicken and some diced boiled eggs. That’s it for today, have a great weekend, and I’ll see you soon with a naughty cake recipe, Karen
As I used left-over cooked rice in the recipe, I am adding this to Tea Time Treats, which is hosted by me, Manjiri and Jo on alternative months; this month Jo is in the driving seat and her theme is “Leftovers” WHY not join in!
Vegetarian Mulligatawny Soup
Print recipe
| Serves | 4 |
| Prep time | 10 minutes |
| Cook time | 30 minutes |
| Total time | 40 minutes |
| Dietary | Vegan, Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Appetizer, Lunch, Soup, Starter |
| Misc | Serve Hot |
| Occasion | Casual Party, Christmas, Formal Party, Halloween |
| Region | Indian |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
- 1 large onion (peeled and diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled and finely minced)
- 4 small carrots or 2 large carrots (peeled and diced)
- 2 parsnips (peeled and diced)
- 1 large eating apple (peeled, cored and diced)
- 1 tablespoon top quality curry powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon black onion seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 600mls hot vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon mango churney (plus extra to serve)
- 250g cooked Basmati rice
- salt to taste
- chopped fresh coriander or parsley
- 1 lemon (cut into quarters to serve)
Note
British people who spent years in India grew to love the local spicy food and brought back their favourite recipes which were adapted in the Victorian kitchen. "Pepper Water" was the nearest thing to soup in the cuisine of India, and indeed the word mulligatawny comes from the Tamil words molegoo (pepper) and tunes (water). This is my healthier vegetarian/vegan version of the original Mulligatawny, made with lots of vegetables, apple and served with rice and mango chutney. This recipe is also suitable for the 5:2 diet or Weight watchers.
Directions
| Step 1 | Heat the oil in a large lidded saucepan and add the diced vegetables and apple; stir the vegetables/apple and replace the lid, saute over a low heat, stirring every now and then until the vegetables are soft and the onion is translucent. |
| Step 2 | Add all of the ground spices and curry powder, stir well and saute for about 1 to 2 minutes before adding the stock. |
| Step 3 | Add the tomato puree, mango chutney and half of the cooked rice, stir well, season to taste with salt and replace the lid. Cook over a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. |
| Step 4 | Ladle the soup into warmed soup bowls, spoon over the remaining cooked rice and a spoonful of mango chutney. Garnish with the freshly chopped coriander or parsley and squeeze the lemon wedges over the soup - serve immediately. |
| Step 5 | Calorie Count: Carrots: 84 Onion: 60 Garlic: 10 Parsnip: 100 Apple: 80 Rapeseed oil: 120 Tomato Puree: 5 Vegetable Stock: 35 Mango churney: 100 Cooked Rice: 245 Curry Powder: 20 Total: 860 Calories (859) 215 calories per portion + 30 for extra mango churtney to serve |
Disclaimer: Collaborative paid post and recipe with OXO Good Grips
Johanna GGG says
This looks lovely – I need some simple healthy soups in my life – and I have had a different version of mulligatawny that I loved but would be interested to try others. Hope you enjoy your time with your mum – she must still be feeling the loss of your dad and appreciate your company – warm wishes to her!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Johanna, I love soup too and we often have it for lunch, especially in the winter months! I am here with mum until nearly the end of January, and we are still coming to terms with dad not being here anymore, but we are getting there thanks! Karen
Joanne says
I recently bought a vegetable chopper and am miserably disapointed. I had such high hopes but the blades bent attempting to chop carrot. I would be tempted to buy this one if you can really vouch for its durability.
Will definitely be trying the soup- looks wonderful
Karen Burns-Booth says
I CAN vouch for this Joanne – I used it with onions, carrots, parsnips and an apple – the only thing I will say, is that for onions, you have to push down very hard until it clicks…..but, it seems to be very durable and hard wearing. Karen
Dom says
Now hat really is a glorious bowl of soup. Like a soup and stew in one and yes, perfect for this bitter weather. Happy New Year darling. Hope to see you soon D xx
Karen Burns-Booth says
Happy New Year to you too Dom – California looked fun as always! Karen
Mary Callan says
Lovely warming spices and lovely soup. I could do with it here in New York – the snow is coming down!
Karen Burns-Booth says
I saw the snow in New York on the TV last night, stay warm and make soup Mary! Karen
Christine says
Hello Karen, this soup interests me being a vegetarian but am not familiar with black onion seeds, can you enlighten me? Thanks
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Christine, black onion seeds are also called Nigella seeds or Kalonji seeds and look like this here, follow the link:
http://www.schwartz.co.uk/discover/black-onion-seeds
Hope that helps!
Karen
Choclette says
Oh lovely post Karen. It did make me laugh that this was originally a vegetarian soup. Not sure the name pepper water sounds desperately appealing though. It sounds just perfect for winter weather and I need a 5:2 nudge right now.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks so much Choclette! Yes, it was us, the Brits, that added the meat elements to this once veggie soup!
Heidi Roberts says
This looks really warming and welcoming. I like the OXO gadget for finely dicing the veggies!
Karen Burns-Booth says
It’s a very handy piece of kit Heidi!
Nayna Kanabar says
This soup looks really delicious nad the vegetable chopper has made light work too.
Karen Burns-Booth says
The chopper was easy and convenient to make this recipe with!
Jo of Jo's Kitchen says
This looks delicious Karen. Thank you for entering it into #TeaTimeTreats
Karen Burns-Booth says
I am so pleased you liked this recipe Jo!
Dee Ryder says
What a delicious healthy soup. just what is needed in the long winter months..
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Dee, we LOVE this soup! Karen
Ulpiano says
I need to buy that Vegetable Cutter. This vegetarian mulligatawny soup looks very tasty. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Juliet Evans says
Prior to becoming vegetarian I used to enjoy mulligatawny soup on holiday when skiing and it’s something that I have wanted to recreate as a vegetarian, this looks lovely and I will definitely be giving it a go and sharing this recipe to my blog Facebook page, thanks!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Juliet! This really is a wonderful veggie version that I hope you will enjoy as much as we did last time I made it! Karen
Nora says
This looks absolutely delicious! I will definitely be making this!