Mulligatawny Palak A Curried Lentil Soup With Spinach Recipes

MULLIGATAWNY PALAK - A CURRIED LENTIL SOUP WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Heat the oil and garam masala in a large pot over medium-high heat and add the onion, stirring often with a wooden spoon.
• About 2 minutes later add the celery, carrot and leek. Keep stirring while the vegetables soften.
• About 8 minutes later add the garlic, turmeric and white pepper.
• A couple of minutes later (by now your kitchen will smell delicious) add the coriander, red lentils, brown lentils and boiling water. Salt lightly.
• At the same time squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, and zest some lemon rind into the pot with a grater.
• Give it a good mix and cover pot with lid. Allow to simmer, adjusting heat downwards and stirring occasionally.
• After about 30 minutes, roughly blend the Mulligatawny in the pot with a hand blender. The split red lentils will already be soft and creamy, so just blend until most of the brown lentils are incorporated. Leave a bit of texture in the dhal.
• Stir, check the consistency and taste, and add more hot water and salt if you need to.
• Add the chopped spinach to the pot, give it a good stir, replace the lid and turn heat to low. Let the spinach wilt in the dhal for the next 10 minutes or so.
• Enjoy your Mulligatawny Palak!

CURRIED LENTIL AND SPINACH SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add next 4 ingredients; sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in curry powder, ginger, cumin, bay leaf, and dried crushed red pepper. Add 9 1/2 cups water and dried lentils; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered until lentils are tender, adding more water by 1/2 cupfuls to thin soup, if desired, about 25 minutes. Add spinach and cilantro; simmer until spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill soup uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm soup over medium heat, thinning with water if desired before serving.)
• Ladle soup into bowls. Top each serving with spoonful of yogurt.

MULLIGATAWNY SOUP

Steps:

• Warm the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and shrunken, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring, until fragrant and softened, about 2 minutes. Add the mustard seeds, turmeric, curry powder, cayenne and cumin seeds, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mustard seeds pop and sizzle, about 90 seconds. Add the carrot, celery and apple, and cook, stirring, until just starting to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then the flour, and cook, stirring well, to uniformly coat all the ingredients, about 2 minutes.
• Add the chicken, masoor dal and chicken broth. Season lightly with salt. Bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up any browned bits sticking to the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.
• Cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes, then uncover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the chicken and carrots are tender, the soup is creamy, and the flavors have blended.
• Stir in the coconut milk and squeeze in the lime juice. Serve in bowls topped with a dusting of cayenne, if desired.

MULLIGATAWNY SOUP WITH LENTILS

Steps:

• Puree the ginger and garlic in a blender or food processor.
• Heat oil and add onion and ginger and garlic, until tender.
• Add the mustard seed and cook until they begin to pop.
• Add in garam masal, tandoor spice mix, curry salt, cardamom and cayenne and stir to coat onion, ginger and garlic.
• Add the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the stock and lentils and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Reduce heat, partially cover and simmer for 1 hour, until the lentils are tender Stir in coconut milk and simmer 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in spinach and lemon juice and sugar (optional).
• Garnish with cilantro.
• Note: tandoori spice mix is available in Indian and gourmet food stores.