Lentil & Bacon Mulligatawny
The mulligatawny I remember from childhood was a watery but heavily pepper-spiced broth that was used to moisten the main starch component of dinner – rice or string hoppers (indiappa). It had the effect of wetting the rice and whetting the appetite. It also made me cough and sputter when the black pepper seared the back of my throat as the first spoonful went down.
Later, as a grad student in England, I discovered a recipe for a mulligatawny that included lentils as a main ingredient. Lentils were cheap and the soup was easy to make. My adaptation soon became a favorite among my housemates who liked cheap, easy and tasty food!
Some time after I returned to Sri Lanka, in the 1980’s, I lost the recipe. Whenever I asked someone if they knew how to make mulligatawny incorporating lentils I was told that could not have been a mulligatawny.
As with a lot of foods in South Asia, the British adapted Mulligatawny to western tastes of the day. The change included adding meats and doing away with some of the spicier ingredients.
The recipe books I searched only showed the traditional pepper-based recipe. Some stated that sometimes meat could be added. Had I been hallucinating? Was my lentil-based mulligatawny just a dream?
While living in Azerbaijan (and in Turkey) I came across a lentil soup that had some of the flavor notes of my mulligatawny. Turkish red lentil soup is thicker than mulligatawny but lacks some of the zing. For one thing it doesn’t include bacon.
Earlier this year I found a note about my lentil-based mulligatawny. With my interest renewed I resumed searching my records for recipes to share .
An internet search returned several recipes for lentil-based mulligatawny. I was saved! It was not all a hallucination! Lentil-based mulligatawny did exist!!
And yet, none of the recipes quite captured the flavor of my wonderful grad student day mulligatawny. So, I did what every good scientist would do. I formulated a hypothesis about what would make the mulligatawny really good. I induced a prediction. And I tested my prediction experimentally.
The recipe below is the result of my experiments and it captures the flavors and textures of that early mulligatawny soup from the 1970’s.
I have tested it extensively on friends of many backgrounds – always to a resounding yes. One of these days I will test it on my enemies to see if I can flip them.
Patricia finished her bowl and wanted more. Unheard of! I hope you will try this soup. It is simple to make, and very tasty!
Lentil & Bacon Mulligatawny
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Wash (rinse) the lentils until the water is clear.
- Put in pot with 1 teaspoon salt and 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to simmer (medium low) and cover. Watch to ensure water does not boil over – open the lid slightly if water starts to boil over.
- Simmer until water evaporates below surface of the lentils. Lentils should be a lighter color, translucent and soft. If lentils remain hard add more water and bring back to a simmer until soft. Do not allow lentils to become mushy and disintegrate.
- When lentils are soft allow to cool, then place in a blender with any remaining water in the pot. Add water so it comes up at least ⅓ of the way to the top of the lentils.
- Pulse blend until lentils are broken down. Set aside.
- Grind the corriander, cumin and black pepper until medium fine (does not have to be a fine powder)
- Add the oil to the soup pot and heat on medium-high Add the onions and bacon and fry till the onions start to brown.
- Add the spice mix to the onion & bacon, reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to cook through – about 5 minutes. If the mix gets dry add a little more oil.
- Add the cooked lentils to the soup base and stir. Add the broth and water to the mix, stir and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add salt to taste, if needed (the bacon will add saltiness)
- Ladle the soup into serving bowls
- Place some fried onions on top, and a quarter lime on the side for guest to squeeze onto the soup as desired.