Instant Pot Mulligatawny Soup (Vegan)

Mulligatawny soup, a creamy and rich curried soup with origins in South Indian cuisine, has been adapted to appeal to Western tastes. With the help of an Instant Pot, this creamy and flavorful soup can be ready in just 20 minutes with minimal effort. This easy set-and-forget recipe is perfect for a quick weeknight meal or for entertaining guests. Its unique blend of warm and aromatic spices will indulge your taste buds, making it a satisfying and comforting dish.

Mulligatawny soup, originally from South Indian cuisine, has been adapted to suit Western tastes with its creamy and rich curried flavor. This hearty and satisfying soup has a thick consistency and is traditionally served with naan bread or crusty sourdough bread.

With the convenience of an Instant Pot, this recipe is a breeze to make and requires minimal monitoring, allowing you to simply set and forget while the flavors blend together. The recipe I am sharing here is a vegan version and is made with red lentils, apples, vegetables, coconut milk, and spices.

Jump to:

• Why you will love this recipe?
• Origin of mulligatawny soup
• Ingredients
• Step-by-step instructions
• Useful tips
• FAQs
• Recipe card
• Comments

Why you will love this recipe?

Origin of mulligatawny soup

This hearty soup originated during British rule in India to satiate their desire for soups. As such, there is no soup course in traditional Indian cuisine and this soup was originally made as a variation of pepper rasam. What started as a light, thin broth made with pepper, tamarind, and water has evolved into a thick, creamy, stew-like wholesome soup.

Rasam is a spicy-tangy South Indian dish that has a soup-like consistency and is made with lentils. This soup-like rasam is eaten with rice in a traditional South Indian meal. In Tamil (Indian language), 'milagai' means pepper and 'tanni' means water, loosely translating it to pepper water. The British concept of soup courses combined with Indian ingredients led to the modernization of "mulagai-tanni" to the word "mulligatawny" soup.

While this soup started off as a variation of the traditional rasam, the present version is nowhere close to the original recipe of rasam made in India. This dish is very popular in Indian restaurants outside of India and is rather less known within India. It started as a vegetarian soup and was later adapted to add chicken and meat.

Ingredients

Red lentils: Or masoor dal, which is the main ingredient of this soup.

Vegetables: Onion, celery, carrots, and tomatoes are used.

Apples: This adds a unique flavor and cannot be skipped.

Ginger, garlic, and green chili: Adjust the chili as per your preference. A good amount of grated ginger and grated garlic cloves goes into making the soup.

Spices: The soup is seasoned with Indian spices along with dried herbs. I use garam masala, cumin powder, turmeric powder, chili powder (or cayenne pepper), and dried thyme. You can replace these powdered spices with Madras curry powder or mild curry powder.

Stock: I use vegetable stock to make this soup.

Coconut milk: This is added towards the end once the lentils are pressure cooked. You can also use half the amount of coconut cream.

Step-by-step instructions

Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and add olive oil or vegetable oil. Add onion, celery stalk, ginger, garlic, and green chilies (steps 1 and 2).

Saute for 3 minutes. Next, add the red lentils (steps 3 and 4).

Add apples, carrots, tomatoes, garam masala, cumin powder, turmeric powder, chili powder, dried thyme, black pepper powder, and salt (steps 5 and 6).

Add the vegetable stock. Mix well and deglaze the bottom of the pot. Secure the IP lid and set it to pressure cook mode for 6 minutes on high pressure (steps 7 and 8).

Do a natural release of pressure for 10 minutes, then do a quick release. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup for 30 seconds. Blend for 1-2 minutes if you want a smooth soup (steps 9 and 10).

Add coconut milk and fresh cilantro. Mix well. Serve this soup hot or warm (steps 11 and 12). As an optional ingredient, finish this creamy soup with a touch of lemon juice or lime juice.

Useful tips

I like to leave the soup chunky and so don't blend it a lot. If you prefer a smooth consistency, blend the soup well before adding the coconut milk.

I use vegetable broth; however, chicken broth can also be used to make this soup. You can also add chicken thighs, cut into small pieces, to the soup.

Apples add a unique flavor and cannot be skipped. Use good quality apples that are not overripe. Granny Smith apples work best for this dish as they impart a nice tart flavor.

I am using coconut milk here. You can replace it with evaporated milk, heavy cream, or use any dairy-free milk. You can top the soup with some roasted cashew to add more texture and crunch to the soup.

You can replace fresh tomatoes with either tomato puree or tomato paste. For this recipe, you will need 3 tablespoons of tomato puree or 1 tablespoon of tomato paste.

You may also like:

1. Curried butternut squash soup.
2. Spinach soup.
3. Vegetable barley soup.
4. Carrot and lentil soup.
5. Stuffed pepper soup.

Click here for more soup recipes.

FAQs

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