Amanda's Flame Tree community soup
This soup is one of the treasured recipes in my little hand-written recipe book of delicious things I’ve collected from all around the place. The recipe I recorded it from was entitled Mulligatawny Soup – though I think in southern Indi...
Thanks to Thirroul's Amanda Harris, one of the inaugural directors of the Flame Tree Coop, for sharing this recipe
This soup is one of the treasured recipes in my little hand-written recipe book of delicious things I’ve collected from all around the place.
The recipe I recorded it from was entitled Mulligatawny Soup – though I think in southern India that’s usually a chicken and pepper soup, so maybe the name is out of place here.
When we held annual soup and film nights for the Flame Tree Co-op – to fundraise and to get together over a shared meal and movie – I used to make this soup in great quantities, it was always a co-op favourite.
All the ingredients are available to fill your jars from the co-op, and it makes the most of some of the ingredients the co-op makes more affordable than supermarkets – especially spices, and staple foods like rice and lentils. And the fried onion and lemon makes it super yummy!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups split red lentils
- 4 cups water
- 2 large onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp oil (I usually use olive or sesame oil)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ to ½ tsp chilli powder/flakes (optional)
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp garam masala
- For serving: Long grain rice, lemon wedges
Method
Rinse lentils 2-3 times until water starts to be less cloudy. Cook lentils in a large pot with 1 diced onion, the bay leaves and pepper. Cover and simmer until soft (approx. 15-25 minutes).
Meanwhile, halve the remaining onion and then slice into rings. Fry onion in the oil until lightly browned, then add garlic, turmeric and optional chilli. After a further minute, add coconut milk and garam masala and then remove from the heat.
When lentils are soft, remove the bay leaves and puree with a stick blender or food processor/blender.
Return to the pan and add vegetable stock and simmer for a few more minutes. Pour the coconut and onion mix into the pureed soup and simmer for 2-3 minutes more. Adjust with salt and extra chilli to taste.
For serving, pour into individual bowls over fluffy rice and add a generous squeeze of lemon.
