Brown Rice Mulligatawny
Mulligatawny Soup with Brown Rice. Full of warm, spicy flavor, this gluten-free Brown Rice Mulligatawny soup recipe is one of my all-time favorites. It is packed with veggies and topped with something creamy to offset the heat.
Mulligatawny.
The soup with the funny name.
Hearty, spicy, filling, and nutritious, this substantial soup is an English spin on Indian cuisine, with seasonings such as curry powder, turmeric, and cumin.
Do any of you recall the famous “Soup Nazi” episode of Seinfeld? Jerry and the gang go out to a new soup stand where its owner is referred to as the “Soup Nazi”, due to his insistence on a strict manner of behavior while ordering. The episode repeatedly describes Mulligatawny as one of the Soup Nazi’s best. Ah, Seinfeld … I miss that show.
Armed with this recipe, it will never be “NO SOUP FOR YOU!” 😉
BROWN RICE MULLIGATAWNY
I’m certainly no “Soup Nazi” but this soup is good.
It’s one of the first healthier style meals that I made when I started to really watch what kinds of foods I was eating and their benefits. After tasting this Mulligatawny recipe, and this may sound funny, but I realized I could really cook.
I enjoyed cooking.
Dare I say, you could taste the love in my food.
As far as the Mulligatawny goes, we gobbled it up and it has been in the regular meal rotation once the weather starts cooling off a tad and dinner become more on the cooked side as apposed to the fresh salads that dominated during the warmer months.
HOW TO MAKE MULLIGATAWNY
After a bit chopping you are good to go.
I like to use a pat or two of butter with my olive oil to start this soup. For starters the butter melting with the oil keeps it from burning and secondly, it just tastes good!
Adding that bit of richness is so nice.
Once the veggies have cooked through and have softened, add in the garlic and stir.
Next add in the spices and brown rice and stir it well.
Stir it vigorously and scrape up anything that starts to stick to the bottom of the pan.
Cook for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently, watching that you don’t let it burn. I did this once and it totally ruined the Mulligatawny. It tasted burnt through and through and no amount of added spice could mask it.
So take care and watch so you aren’t wasting precious time and ingredients.
Now you can pour in the chicken stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, you can chop up your chicken pieces. A trick I picked up from a chef was to use frozen chicken breasts when cutting them into chunks for soups or stews. It makes for an easier time as the chicken doesn’t slide around. The other nice thing is that it makes perfectly shaped pieces, which the OCD in me really appreciates. 🙂
Into the pot go the chicken pieces.
Stew this for another 20 minutes and serve.
It’s nice paired with hot buttered Ezekiel toast if you are so inclined and a nice salad doesn’t hurt either. Top each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of green onion or chives.
This is a great soup to pack up for lunch the next day and it also freezes well. I make this soup all the time and I hope it becomes a favourite for you as well.
MORE GLUTEN FREE CHICKEN SOUP RECIPES:
Chicken and Quinoa Vegetable Soup
Creamy Coconut Curry Chicken Vegetable Soup
*Originally posted October 7, 2013 Updated June 8, 2019*
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Mulligatawny
Ingredients
- 1/2 onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/4 cup brown rice rinsed
- 8 cups chicken broth I used 2 containers of PC Organic Chicken broth
- 2, boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- handful green onion or chives sliced, as garnish (optional, but tasty!)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil and butter in a large soup pot. Sauté onions, celery, carrot until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic
- Add spices and brown rice, stir well and cook 5 more minutes. Add chicken stock, mix well again, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer about 1/2 hour
- Meanwhile, chop up the chicken breast into cubes and add them to the soup and simmer for another 20 minutes
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with chives
I could eat this soup every day! There’s nothing quite as comforting as a bowl of chicken soup and your recipe has exciting flavours too! Thanks gor a great recipe.
Thanks Elaine! This one is one of my personal faves. 🙂
Looks great but can it be made vegetarian?
Definitely! Just omit the chicken. You could maybe add another grain like barley or some quinoa? Happy Easter Joe. 🙂
The name Mulligatawny soup comes from the bastardization of the Tamil (Indian language) words “moraga tanni” which means spicy/chilli water. It is a thin broth like very spicy soup we make in South India to go with rice. Of course, the British couldn’t pronouce it and changed the way it sounds like they did with most cities/foods/anything they came across.
I love your take on the soup! Will try it out 🙂
Oh, the Brits 🙂 So typical! I hope you love it, it’s a favourite of ours.
YUM! I love homemade soup. I’m a wee bit addicted to adding a small can of coconut milk in at the end for extra ummph! Speaking of Seinfeld, not sure if you have seen the ‘Modern Day Seinfeld’ Twitter account, if not, you HAVE to check it out! Same Seinfeld perfection in modern day scenarios. Hilarious!
I will check out that twitter account … I miss Seinfeld 🙂 Coconut milk in this would be decandently delicious! Great addition!
When I first saw the title to this, I was like “whaa?” That is quite a name. It does look like it was made with love! 🙂
You’d never heard of Mulligatawny, either? So many people look at me funny when I mention it 😉 Most Brits know it …