Mulligatawny should not be confused with Mulligan stew (food).
| Mulligatawny | |
| Image Alt: | A bowl of soup in a metal bowl |
| Type: | Other |
| Country: | Tamil Nadu, India |
| Served: | Hot, often with rice |
| Similar Dish: | Rasam |
Mulligatawny is a soup which originated from South Indian cuisine. The name originates from the Tamil words Tamil: miḷagu (Tamil: மிளகு 'black pepper'), and Tamil: thanneer (Tamil: தண்ணீர், 'water') (often pronounced with a silent r); literally, "pepper-water".[1] It is related to the dish Tamil: [[rasam (dish)|rasam]].
Main ingredients commonly include chicken, mutton, and lentils.
Mulligatawny was popular in India by the end of the 18th century, and by the 19th century it began to appear in cookbooks of the day, with each cook (or cookbook) featuring its own recipe.[2] Recipes for mulligatawny varied greatly at that time and over the years (e.g., Maria Rundell's A New System of Domestic Cookery contained three versions), and later versions of the soup included British modifications that included meat,[3] although the local Madras (modern Chennai) recipe on which it was based did not. Early references to it in English go back to 1784.[4] In 1827, William Kitchiner wrote that it had become fashionable in Britain:
By the mid-1800s, Arthur Robert Kenney-Herbert (1840–1916), under the pen name Wyvern, wrote in his popular Culinary Jottings that "really well-made mulligatunny is ... a thing of the past." He also noted that this simple recipe prepared by poorer natives of Madras as made by "Mootoosamy" was made by pounding:
According to the Oxford Companion to Food, the simplest version of the soup included chicken or mutton, fried onion, and spices.[5] More complex versions may call for "a score of ingredients". Versions originating in southern India commonly called for lentils.
The dish is featured in the sketch Dinner for One which is broadcast every New Year's Eve in Scandinavia and Germany.[6]
In episode 6 from season 7 of the TV show Seinfeld, the character Elaine casually orders a mulligatawny soup from the infamous Soup Nazi's soup stand. However, after Elaine comments that the Soup Nazi looks like Al Pacino, he bans Elaine from the soup stand for one year and she does not get her soup.
Alfred mentions that mulligatawny is Batman's favorite soup in Batman #701.[7]