Cuisine: Anglo – Indian

The Anglo-Indian Mulligatawny stew is where West meets East, and vice versa. According to Wikipedia, “Mulligatawny is related to the soup rasam. Due to its popularity in England during British India, it was one of the few items of Indian cuisine that found common mention in the literature of the period. Early references to it in English go back to year 1784.” There are many variations of this recipe – some use ghee, others oil, some use lentils, other use lamb or beef, others are vegetarian. This one calls for lamb and lentils.

Serves: 6
Cooking time: 60 min
You need: a casserole or pot and saucepan or skillet

Ingredients

• 1 Kg (@2Lbs) of lamb or mutton – preferably with bones, shoulder or breast cut.
• 1 handful of masoor dal (red gram dal)
• 2 glasses (cups) of coconut milk
• 2 Tbs of olive oil, or coconut oil
• 2-3 green chillies
• 2 Tsp red chilli powder
• 1 Tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 Tsp turmeric powder
• 1 Tsp cumin powder
• 2 Tbsp ginger, diced and mashed
• 2 Tbsp garlic, diced and mashed
• +2 glasses (cups) of hot water
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• Salt to taste
• 8 to 10 curry leaves
• 2 onions, medium sized, sliced
• 2 Tbsp mint, diced, for the garnish.

Instructions

The lamb

1. Take a casserole.
2. Put in the meat and the dal.
3. Cover with water.
4. Cook the meat in medium-low fire until it’s tender.
5. Stir the mixture until the dal is smooth.

The spices

1. Take a saucepan and add the oil or ghee.
2. Heat it up, and saute the curry leaves, the green chillies and the onions until they change colour to brown.
3. Add the ginger and the garlic and saute for a few minutes.
4. Now it’s time time for the rest: add the chilli powder, the cumin powder, the coriander powder and the turmeric powder and saute for a few minutes until the oil separates from the mixture.

The combination

1. Empty the saucepan into the casserole (into the meat and dal, that is). Mix well.
2. Add the coconut oil, gently, stirring well.
3. Salt to taste.
4. Add 2 more glasses (cups) of water.
5. Simmer in medium-low fire with the lid on for about 15 to 20 minutes.

The garnish

1. Remove the casserole from the heat.
2. Add the lime juice.
3. Garnish with the mint leaves.

Notes on the Anglo – Indian Lamb Mulligatawny Stew or Soup

• Can be served with bread or rice.
• Olive oil is very recent to India. For a more “authentic” flavour you could substitute the 2 Tbsp of olive oil with 1 Tbsp of ghee (clarified) butter.
• Needless to mention that ghee makes the recipe non-kosher.