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| Warm up with a bowl of this delicious mulligatawny soup. |
Soup weather has arrived in Southern California. The sky is flannel gray and thick with rain. The streets below are slick and shiny wet. Monday morning traffic sounds are hushed and distant. It is even a bit chilly- for L.A. standards. I am wrapped in a sweater. And I am craving mulligatawny- one of my favorite spicy soups. As luck or fate or Plan B foresight would have it, I had enough ingredients on hand to make my favorite soup for lunch today. A simpler, easier version of my well worn favorite recipe for Vegetarian Mulligatawny. I skipped the cabbage and cauliflower and canned tomatoes this time. And upped the carrots for a fresh tasting, healthy soup.
I just started reading The Sound of Paper by Julia Cameron. I need a kick in the creative butt. I'm feeling stuck. Not in a blasé, cigarette dangling, shoulder shrugging What's the point? existential despair kind of stuck. But close.
I don't do well with the horror of natural disasters, you see. Sending money helps (check out Partners in Health), but I cannot shake off the dyspeptic sensation of collective pain and suffering that easily. It invades my chest cavity. It interrupts my sleep.
Unlike the rich and pampered bullies with their cynical stew of fake piety and patriotism, I find no comfort in the distancing act of judgment. Declaring a country evil and deserving of disaster while you pad your swollen bank account with the hard earned cash of your tithing followers and loyal audience (who by virtue of their affiliation to The Golden Rule ought to be queasy and outraged by your distinct anti-compassion) strains not only your credibility as a human being, but also any assumption of sanity.
This world is a fragile, often dangerous place. We forget that.
We get comfy and lazy inside our air conditioning, reaching into our refrigerators for vitamins or vodka without a second thought. We twitter and we text and opine about movies or gluten-free baking mixes. If we're not aware of our privilege, if we're not knee deep in awe of the everyday luxuries we indulge in without shame or irony each and every single day we breathe, we're missing something.
Aren't we?
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| Leave a few chickpeas whole or puree it all. |
Mulligatawny Soup Recipe with Jasmine Rice
This quick and easy version of mulligatawny is vegetarian by default- I don't add the traditional chicken to my mulligatawny. But if you'd prefer to add some foul, make sure those birds were free range and organically raised. Why? Watch Food Inc and find out.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon gluten-free red curry paste or curry powder, to taste
1 medium red onion, peeled, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 quart light vegetable broth
1 cup coconut milk
Juice from 1 or 2 medium limes, as needed
1 teaspoon raw organic agave nectar or organic raw sugar
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 14-oz. can chick peas
, rinsed and drained Finely diced red onion, apple, or chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
You'll also need:
1 pot of cooked jasmine rice
Instructions:
Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a medium size soup pot. Add the curry paste and stir briefly to season the oil. Add in the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, apples and sweet potato; stir and cook until softened, about 7 minutes.
Stir in the vegetable broth. Bring to a high simmer and then cover the pot; reduce the heat and simmer the soup, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Add the coconut milk, a squeeze of lime juice and a touch of agave or raw sugar. Stir with love. Taste for seasoning adjustments. Could it use more lime to tart it up a bit? A little salt and pepper?
Adjust the seasonings to your liking. Heat through gently; don't boil.
Puree the soup with a handheld immersion blender (you could also puree in small batches, covered tightly, in a blender or a food processor; hold the lid on, though as hot soup sputters and expands when it is blended). Return the puree to the soup pot.
Stir in the drained chick peas. Heat through on low heat until serving.
Note: If you prefer a little more texture, you can also puree only half the soup- or mash it lightly with a potato masher until you have the consistency you desire. Then add the chick peas and warm through.
Serve the mulligatawny with a garnish of diced red onion, apple or cilantro. Offer a side of hot cooked jasmine rice.
Add a spoonful of rice to the soup as you eat it. Delicious!
Serves 4.
Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
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More mulligatawny-inspired soup recipes from food bloggers:
Red Lentil Mulligatawny with Apple-Celery Salsa from Food Blogga
Vegetable Mulligatawny Soup from Lisa's Kitchen
Mulligatawny Soup from Ahaar- Pleasure and Sustenance
Red Lentil Soup at 101 Cookbooks
Vegetarian Lentil Soup at Kalyn's Kitchen
The Accidental Soup Recipe: Chick Peas, Ginger and Coriander at Pinch My Salt
