Mulligatawny Soup

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6-quart heavy saucepan
• •Medium saucepan for the rice
• •Sturdy fine-mesh sieve
• •Ladle and shallow skimming spoon
• •Poultry shears or heavy chef's knife
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Soup tureen

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the fowl

   Put the chicken pieces, carrot roundels, sliced onion, parsley, celery, mushroom parings, and consommé or stock into a heavy saucepan. Bring slowly to a boil, skimming away the grey foam as it rises, then lower the heat immediately so the liquid barely trembles. Remove the breast pieces once their thickest part reaches 165°F (74°C), usually after 25 to 30 minutes; continue cooking the legs and thighs until tender and safely cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes longer. Cover the cooked pieces and keep them aside.

2. 2

   Cook the rice apart

   While the chicken cooks, rinse the rice until the water is nearly clear. Bring the measured water to a lively boil with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, add the rice, and cook uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes, until tender but still distinct grain by grain. Drain very thoroughly, return it to the warm dry saucepan, and cover with a clean folded towel beneath the lid for 10 minutes. This is riz à l'Indienne, rice boiled in abundant salted water and drained dry. Keep it apart from the soup.

3. 3

   Strain the liquor

   Pass the chicken cooking liquor through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl without pressing the spent vegetables; pressure here clouds the liquor. Reserve 1/2 cup (120 ml) separately for the despumation. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, then cut about 2 cups (480 ml / 300 g) of the meat into thin, neat slices. Save any remaining meat for another meal.

4. 4

   Build the curried base

   Wipe the saucepan clean and melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the finely chopped onion and cook for 7 to 9 minutes, stirring often, until lightly golden and soft, never dark brown. Sprinkle the fécule and curry evenly over it and stir for 30 seconds, just until the butter smells fragrant. Gradually whisk in the strained cooking liquor, one ladle at a time. If the fécule gathers into beads, lift the pan from the heat and press them smooth against the side before adding more liquid; the final sieve catches any stragglers. Ça se rattrape.

5. 5

   Cook the liaison

   Bring the curried soup to a full boil while stirring, then lower it immediately to a gentle simmer. Cook for exactly 7 to 8 minutes, stirring across the bottom from time to time so the fécule cannot catch. The soup should remain fluid, with only enough body to leave a light veil on a spoon.

6. 6

   Sieve and purify

   Rub the soup through the fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing the softened onion through with the back of a ladle. Return it to the gentlest simmer for 20 minutes. Skim the fine foam from the surface as it gathers, adding a tablespoon of the reserved consommé or stock every 3 to 4 minutes to encourage the impurities upward. This despumation is quiet work: do not boil hard, stir the foam back in, or skim away the soup beneath it. Keep the last 2 tablespoons of reserved liquor for adjusting the consistency.

7. 7

   Finish with cream

   Whisk a ladleful of hot soup into 6 tablespoons (90 ml / 90 g) of the cream, then stir this mixture back into the saucepan over low heat. Do not let it boil. If the soup is thicker than a light cream soup should be, loosen it with the held-back liquor. If the cream shows tiny flecks after meeting excessive heat, remove the pan from the stove, whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of cold cream, and pass it once more through the sieve. Taste before adding the remaining salt; a properly seasoned consommé may need none.

8. 8

   Fill the tureen

   Warm a soup tureen with hot water, then empty and dry it. Warm the sliced chicken briefly in a ladleful of soup, pour the finished Potage Mulligatawny into the tureen, and add the meat. Bring the riz à l'Indienne in a separate warm dish so each guest may add a spoonful without letting the rice swell in the pot and steal its clarity. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use a fresh, mild curry powder with a warm coriander and turmeric character. The source asks for curry as a composed seasoning, not a blast of chile; its perfume should sit inside the soup rather than chase everything else from the bowl.
• •White chicken consommé gives the finest result. A clear, unsalted chicken stock is the honest home equivalent, but avoid deeply roasted brown stock, which muddies both the colour and the delicate cream finish.
• •Mushroom parings mean clean stems and trimmings, not dirt or tired scraps. Save them when preparing mushrooms for another dish, or ask the market for a handful of firm button mushroom stems.
• •Serve the rice apart. Added directly to the tureen, it continues drinking the soup, thickens the fécule base, and turns tomorrow's careful pot into porridge.
• •Heavy cream matters because it withstands the warm soup and gives the intended finish. We don't apologize for butter, and we do not replace the cream with something that splits when asked to behave like cream.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken may be poached and the liquor strained up to 24 hours ahead. Chill the liquor and sliced meat separately within 2 hours; lift away any set surface fat before building the curried base.
• •The soup can be completed through the despumation up to 24 hours ahead. Reheat it gently, then add the cream and chicken only when serving.
• •The riz à l'Indienne may be cooked up to 2 hours ahead. Spread it briefly so it cools quickly, chill it covered, then reheat it with a spoonful of water in a covered saucepan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)