Eggs in a Vegetable Mulligatawny Sauce

The other day, I made a thick, creamy and spicy vegetable Mulligatawny soup. Delicious the first day, it tastes even better the second day when the flavors have mingled longer. The second day is then a great opportunity to use it as a sauce for serving hard-boiled eggs in, and makes for a delightfully simple and attractive dish.

Eggs in a Mulligatawny Sauce

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World Cuisine: Indian Published on May 27, 2007 Hard-boiled eggs served in a creamy, spicy and fragrant Mulligatawny soup sauce Print this recipe Ingredients: 1 tablespoon butter or oil 1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds 4 - 5 cups vegetable Mulligatawny soup (below) 6 - 8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise sea salt to taste fresh ground black pepper to taste squeeze of fresh lime or lemon juice Instructions: Heat the butter or oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds. As soon as they begin to splutter and pop — less than a minute — add the soup and bring to a simmer. Ladle the sauce into shallow serving dishes. Put the eggs in the sauce, cut sides up so that the tops rise above the sauce. Sprinkle the dish with some salt and pepper and sprinkle with lime or lemon juice. Makes 3 to 4 servings

Vegetable Mulligatawny Soup

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World Cuisine: Indian First published on May 21, 2007 Thick, creamy, fragrant and spicy Mulligatawny soup — a perfect starter for any Indian meal Print this recipe Ingredients: 1 teaspoon black peppercorns 2 tablespoons coriander seeds 2 teaspoons cumin seeds 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 1 teaspoon turmeric 1/2 - 1 teaspoon cayenne 2 tablespoons chickpea flour (besan) 5 - 6 cups vegetable stock 1 large potato, diced 6 large button mushrooms, roughly chopped 2 medium carrots, sliced 2 small turnips, peeled and diced 4 tablespoons red lentils small handful dried curry leaves or 2 crushed bay leaves 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced 14 oz can coconut milk 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste Instructions: In a heavy frying pan, dry roast the peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds over medium-high heat. Stir for a couple of minutes or until the seeds begin to emit a roasted aroma and darken a couple of shades. Remove from the pan, let cool, and grind the seeds in a coffee or spice grinder. If desired, press the ground spices through a fine mesh sieve for a finer soup. Add the turmeric and cayenne to the ground spices and set aside. Add the chickpea flour to a medium bowl and add a few tablespoons of the stock. Stir and remove any lumps. Add another 5 cups of stock and mix. Combine the chickpea flour and stock mixture, ground spices, mushrooms and vegetables, lentils, curry leaves or bay leaves, garlic, onion and ginger in a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and gently simmer for 45 to 50 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add more stock if necessary. Remove from heat and blend the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a countertop blender. Return the soup to the stove, stir in the coconut milk and salt, and simmer the soup for a couple of minutes to combine the flavours. Again, more stock can be added if you wish. Serve hot in warm bowls garnished with lime wedges. Makes 8 to 10 servings