Comfort...

I've been on an Indian food kick the past few months-I decided to make Mulligatawny soup tonight...a thick curry flavored soup. I've never really attempted to cook Indian before...the recipes always look so intimidating or you need to purchase half the grocery store to make a single dish ;)

Found a recipe online and sent it over to my boyfriend who actually had the soup in India...I figured he could clean it up for me...fix the recipe. Then I ventured out at lunch to a local Indian grocery store to pick up the ingredients. Oh my...the store was quite, um, fragrant!!!

Got home after work and started cooking and wow...the soup turned out amazing!!! Its a perfect blend of exotic flavors - the curry, coconut milk, chicken, and apples. Served it with a slice of Roti. What a delicious dinner! I will definitely make it again!

Enjoy the recipe!

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Mulligatawny Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 chili pepper seeded/deveined (your choice: banana, poblano, jalapeno, etc.)
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup red lentils
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon curry powder (or paste)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1-2 cups cooked rice
1/2-1 cup shredded cooked chicken (you can cook raw chicken in the stock at the start if you don't have leftover chicken lying around)
1/2 cup tart raw apple, skinned and chopped into small half inch cubes

Sauté the celery, carrots, onion, and pepper in the olive oil at a low heat until the onion is translucent. Stir in the yellow curry paste to blend and cook for a minute. Pour in the stock, add the lentils (and chicken, if it's raw), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, get the rice cooked (if it isn't already); likewise with the chicken. Then shred the chicken and chop the apples...set aside.

When the soup is done, season to taste with the salt. Puree 1/2 to 3/4 of the soup in a blender. Return to pot.

When ready to serve, bring the soup to a simmer and add the coconut milk, sugar, chicken, and apples. Spoon cooked rice into individual bowls...ladle soup over rice and garnish with extra coconut milk and minced cilantro (or parsley).