Coconut Curry Chicken Soup
You know those meals that you can’t get out of your head, even years later? Sometimes it’s a fancy five-star experience and sometimes its a soup at a grocery store to-go counter.
Years ago when I was working in public relations in NYC, we would head to this little grocery store called “Gourmet Garage” for lunch. Not only did they have the most amazing soup selection, but they’d also include a pot of basmati rice on the side. We’d put a scoop of the rice in first and then top it with our soup of choice. Genius? I think so. I’m sure they didn’t invent this concept, but it was news to me and made everything that much better.
There was one soup that I kept going back for over and over, the “mulligatawny”– a name that I still haven’t figured out how to pronounce. Sadly, I never saw it anywhere ever again and could only dream about what it was made of. After many jumbled google searches, I’ve finally figured it out. It’s a traditional curry style soup with lentils, coconut milk, and plenty of spices.
There are many variations all over the web, but I decided to take a stab at my own interpretation and ended up with this coconut curry chicken soup. The best way I can describe the flavor? It’s like Indian butter chicken, but probably a bit healthier. Heaven on earth. You can load up the toppings and even add the turmeric rice if you’re feeling fancy, but it definitely doesn’t need either. Add some naan and you’re good to go! (I only had ‘regular’ bread, but it still does the dipping job.)
Ingredients
- 1 green apple (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 1 small yellow onion
- 2 large carrots (~1 cup chopped)
- 1 small sweet potato (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 3 cloves fresh garlic (grated or minced)
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger (grated or minced)
- 1½ tbsp curry powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup butter or ghee
- 1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz)
- ½ cup dried red lentils
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk (15 oz)
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 4 boneless chicken thighs
Turmeric Rice:
- ½ cup basamati rice
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven or pot with a lid, cook chopped onion, apple and carrots over medium heat with a splash of oil (I use coconut or avocado) for about 5 minutes. Add in spices, butter, ginger, and garlic, cook for a couple more minutes.
- Add in the sweet potatoes and lentils, stirring to combine.
- Add the rest of ingredients and stir to combine. If you’re using chicken, add the whole pieces in now. Bring to a boil and then lower and cover (leaving the top cracked a bit).
- Cook entire pot on low for about 40 minutes, chicken are cooked through.
- Remove the chicken and shred using a fork.
- This is where you’ll want to decide on texture. If you want a completely creamy soup, blend everything in a blender and add back into the pot. I wanted to keep some texture so I blend the whole soup, but only for a few seconds. You could also use an immersion blender as well.
- Add the chicken back in and stir to combine. Adjust salt and pepper if needed.
- Optional toppings: coconut milk, yogurt, cilantro, chopped cashews, and/or turmeric rice
Turmeric Rice:
- Combine everything into a small pot and bring to a boil. Turn on low and cover until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 more minutes.
