Tadka Mulligatawny Soup Chef Recipe by Adam Liaw

Ingredients

2 Tbs coconut oil or vegetable oil
1 large brown onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 cm piece fresh ginger, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 Tbs curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt
400g tinned diced tomatoes
4 cups vegetable stock
220g chana dal (dried yellow split peas), soaked for 30 minutes
1 Granny Smith (green) apple, cored and roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
200mL coconut milk

Tadka:

3 Tbs coconut oil or vegetable oil
1 French shallot, finely sliced
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
10 curry leaves
1/2 tsp Korean or Kashmiri chilli powder

Method

Heat a medium saucepan over a medium heat.

Add the oil and fry the onion, garlic and ginger for about 1 minute.

Add the turmeric, curry powder, garam masala, salt and tomatoes and fry for about 1 minute until the spices are fragrant.

Add the stock, dal, apple, carrot and sweet potato and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes until the dal is softened, stirring occasionally. Stir through the coconut milk and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Blend the soup with a stick blender until you achieve a rough, textured consistency.

To make the tadka, heat the oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat and fry the shallot until lightly golden.

Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves and cook, stirring, until the seeds start to crackle.

Remove from the heat and stir through the chilli powder. To serve, spoon the hot tadka over the portions of soup.

Tip:

I tend to use Korean chilli powder over Kashmiri as it comes in a variety of heats and flake sizes and is easier to find in Australia.

Credits: 7 Days of Dinner by Adam Liaw, Hardie Grant Books, RRP $45

Photo Credits: Photography by Steve Brown