This Mulligatawny Soup is a traditional curry soup with origins in Indian cuisine that is deeply satisfying, comforting and delicious. Mildly spicy, creamy, loaded with chicken and apples, simply incredible!
What do you think of when you hear the name “Mulligatawny”? Seinfeld! Thought so. No soup for you! Just kidding! I have soup for you. And I have a yummy, creamy, curry soup, a.k.a. Mulligatawny soup. It’s one of my favorites really, I mean how can you go wrong with curry and apples?
WHAT IS MULLIGATAWNY SOUP?
Mulligatawny Soup is a traditional curry soup with origins in Indian cuisine made with meat or chicken. There are so many different variations of this Mulligatawny soup, so this is just my version of this amazing soup.
I like my soups thick and creamy so they’re perfect for dipping your crusty bread in.
HOW TO MAKE MULLIGATAWNY SOUP
I loaded this soup with chicken and rice and lots of veggies like carrots, celery and onions so it really is good for you. This soup is perfect for cold winter nights, which is exactly the kind of weather we’ve been having here, but nothing makes me feel better than a humongous bowl of this creamy goodness.
Don’t let the name Mulligatawny scare you because this soup really is simple to make and done in 30 minutes, which as you know is my favorite kind of meals, 30-Minute One-Pot meals! Ha!
The great thing about this soup is that you can really make it your own, throw in whatever veggies you have, skip the meat or the rice, or use small pastas instead like orzo or acini di pepe. Use half and half over coconut milk, but I would strongly recommend to keep the curry and apples, after all that’s what makes this Mulligatawny soup.
LOOKING FOR MORE SOUP RECIPES? TRY THESE:
- Romanian Meatball Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Beef Stroganoff Soup
Mulligatawny Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter unsalted
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 large carrot chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
- 4 chicken thighs (about 1 lb) boneless and skinless
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 1/2 cup rice
- 14 oz unsweetened coconut milk (1 can)
- 2 small apples peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- In a large Dutch Oven or soup pot melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic to the pot, season with salt and pepper, stir then cook for about 3 minutes until the onion and carrot softens and the garlic becomes aromatic.
- Add the chicken thighs to the pot then season them with salt and pepper. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink. Don't worry if it's not cooked through.
- Add the oregano, turmeric, curry powder and stir. Dust with the flour and stir again.
- Add the chicken broth, rice, coconut milk, lower the heat to a medium-low then let the soup cook for about 10 minutes or until the rice is cooked through.
- Transfer the chicken thighs to a bowl and shred with a couple forks, then add back to the pot.
- Add the apples and cook for a couple more minutes.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
Video
Notes
- If you find the soup is too thick, feel free to add more chicken broth as needed.
- Feel free to use chicken breast if preferred.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition
I just got a Ninja Foodi and I’m wondering how I would make this soup in that? Should I use pressure cooking because of the rice or just do it on a slow cook setting? I just wanted to add of all the millions of recipes out there yours look the best to me, I’m pretty sure we have similar taste and I can’t wait to check out more! However I’m on a low carb, low sugar diet (of course) and soups seem to help me lose the best so I’ll be focused on them for now. Thanks so much for sharing. ps… I’m sure you probably have a Ninja or Instapot so I wonder if recipes will start being made in them?
We have never used a Ninja Foodi, but we are planning on trying one out very soon 🙂 I would still sear the veggies and chicken as per steps 1 and 2 for all that flavor. Seeing as this recipe only requires 10 minutes of cooking, it’ll be faster to just do it on your stovetop vs waiting for the pressure to build up in an IP/ NF!
I’m not a a cook but I made this the other night. It came out fantastic!
Did Mulligatawny ever have lamb? It just seems like the name refers to lamb rather than chicken. Just curious.
From my understanding is that it can have lamb or chicken. This would be great with some lamb, something I must try!
I made this soup for dinner yesterday, and both my husband and I loved it!! It was especially good today, leftover for lunch!
Thanks for commenting and letting me know. So glad you liked this. 🙂
Tried this tonight. Absolutely amazing. Can’t wait to have it again tomorrow for lunch. That says A LOT.
We’re so glad you love this soup! Enjoy your lunch 🙂
Hi Jo,
This recipe looks incredible. However, I noticed that you only cook rice for 10 min? Are you using a special type of rice. I’ve never had any cook in less than 20 and up here in the mountains at least 25-27 min. Maybe just me. Because the ingredients look so great I’m going to cook it until the rice is done for us. Thanks so much. I love love love your posts and recipes.
Since it’s in a soup, you can just keep it on the heat and let it cook until you’re happy with the doneness!
I thought so. I made it and oh my goodness, it was fabulous. My husband is an extremely picky eater. HA! He went back for 3rds. So delicious. Will be making this again and again. Thanks for wonderful recipes!
Wow that’s a sign of a successful meal! We’re so glad you and your husband love it 🙂
This looks wonderfully warm and hearty – I shall be trying it in the coming week! Thank you for sharing it!
…just one point, though… I’m afraid I can’t say that ‘Mulligatawny’ makes me think of Seinfeld. I’d never have associated the two on my own.
The first thing that comes to MY mind when you mention Mulligatawny Soup is an old film that seems to be a German New Years tradition – It’s called ‘Dinner for One’ – and it’s bizarre, but funny.
It’s probably on Youtube… you should give it a look.
That’s the wonderful thing about food, we all get our very own memories and connections to it! We’ll check out that video 🙂
This was incredible!!! I added a couple tomatoes and let everything cook longer so apples dissolved. And 10/10. Thx. Perfect.
I am not a good cook and would prefer to use a breast instead. Would I have to cook the breast beforehand? Or leave it in longer? Thank you. It looks great.
Follow the recipe exactly. Cut the chicken breasts in half so they have a chance to cook through a bit more, and you’ll be okay!
I surveyed many recipes but settled on yours- very tasty and satisfying! I added some chopped green pepper and a tablespoon of tomato purée and skipped the oregano.
Excellent! I added some minced ginger and a cubed sweet potato but otherwise followed your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I made this using a roast chicken from the grocery store. I rarely take the time to rate recipes but I am doing so because it is so easy and delicious!
Thank you!
Thank you the rating! So happy you enjoyed this!
Delicious soup! The whole family loved it and I will make it again soon.
So good! I made a double batch and froze it. My two 4 year olds gobbled it up too!
Jo, after many years of looking for a good hearty Mulligatawny soup, I tried yours this evening and I absolutely love it. I shall reproduce your recipe on my blog – with my addition of some potato and converted into English measures – and give you due credit. Thank you, this is going to become a regular in my Autumn menu plans! It’s an easy five stars all day long.
So happy you like it, Jenny!
Hey,
Thanks so much for this recipe! Those images look absolutely delicious. I love the addition of dried oregano! I may be an IT Expert but I’m not the most talented chef – thankfully this recipe seems easy to follow!
I just made the Mulligatawny Soup and it’s delicious! Perfect for a snowy day :). Five stars from me!
Glad you liked it!
Jo, this looks delicious. I am going to cook it, hopefully, next week. I’ll take a picture and let you know how it turned out.
BTW, I just ordered your 30-Minute One-Pot Meals cookbook from Amazon. I love to cook, but I’m getting busier and need to streamline some of my meals. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for ordering my book, I hope you like it! Let me know how the soup turns out. 🙂