Mulligatawny with Chickpeas Recipe

By Genevieve

After a few round-up posts to start the new year, it's about time I shared a new recipe with you! I actually made this soup before the holidays, but I thought this was a better time to post it, now that everyone is looking for healthy dinner ideas.

I've had mulligatawny soup a number of times in the past, but each recipe seems to be different. The name mulligatawny literally means "pepper water" and can generally be described as a spiced lentil soup, but it can be prepared in different ways - sometimes it's just a pureed soup, and some versions have vegetables or even chicken mixed in. I think the best mulligatawny soup I've ever had will always be one that I ate at a nice hotel in India, but this homemade version was really good too!

The recipe comes from the Whole Living website, and what drew me to it was the addition of toasted chickpeas. The recipe sounded perfect as written, but I decided to add some onion for extra flavour and I used yellow split peas instead of lentils, so I had to increase the cooking time.

This was a warm and comforting soup with the flavour of Indian spices brightened up by the fresh lemon juice. I really liked the toasted chickpeas too, they added an interesting textural dimension and turned the soup into more of a meal.  I also recommend serving this with naan bread - its great for cleaning out your bowl!

Mulligatawny with Chickpeas

Adapted from Whole Living

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• salt and pepper
• 8 oz dried yellow split peas
• 28 oz vegetable broth, plus additional water
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus additional lemon slices for serving
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Instructions:

Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until lightly browned. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, coriander and cayenne, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for about 30 more seconds. 

Add the split peas and vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover the pot and cook for about 30 minutes, until the split peas are soft.  Make sure you keep an eye on the pot - if the liquid starts to dry up, add additional water to prevent the peas from burning (I added about one cup total throughout the cooking time).

Once the split peas have finished cooking, transfer the soup in batches to a blender and puree. Return soup to pot and add 2 cups of additional water.  Heat over medium heat until the soup is warmed through. 

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chickpeas and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown and crisp, about 7-8 minutes. 

Remove the soup from heat and stir in the lemon juice and the cooked chickpeas (or add the chickpeas to each bowl at serving time). 

Serve with rice and/or naan bread if desired, and additional lemon wedges for squeezing over each bowl.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Mulligatawny with Chickpeas Recipe 2022-03-08T17:32:00-08:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: Admin