Spicy Chicken and Rice Mulligatawny Soup

I've been absent from the food blog world for the past couple of weeks (Did you miss me? Please say yes!) and the reason is twofold: I took a much-needed hiatus from technology when I went to New Orleans, and then, shortly after I got back, I got full-on walloped by an evil, nasty head cold.

Enter this soup. I needed something warm, healing, and spicy, and so I used a mulligatawny recipe from my favorite new cookbook, Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking, as a base, and tweaked it just enough so that it reminded me of a South Asian version of chicken and rice soup.


I had another purpose in choosing a mulligatawny soup, and that was because I needed the appropriate vessel for using some canned tomatoes. You see, some time ago I received a gift pack of canned Red Pack tomatoes - whole, diced, crushed, and pureed - with the intention of either writing a review, doing a giveaway, or using them in a recipe. And no, you didn't miss that post because I have been shockingly behind and remiss in my blogging. It's absurd, really, because I used canned tomatoes in dishes all the time, especially at this time of year when fresh tomatoes aren't in season. And now I suppose I will never win the Red Pack contest, in which 7 bloggers will be chosen to go to Indianapolis, al expenses paid, for the Red Pack Taste of the Superbowl party. Those of you who know my feelings on football can stop laughing right now:  This isn't about team sports, it's about food.

And so this soup killed two birds with one stone, as it not only contained the magical healing properties of chile peppers, chicken, and rice, it also had a whole can of those Red Pack diced tomatoes. Success!  As an extra bonus, this made enough for two dinners and two lunches for two people - a pretty good feat when you're feeling like something that's been peeled off the bottom of a shoe.

Here's what to do: In a stockpot, saute one chopped onion, 3 hot green chiles, 3 tablespoons raw curry powder (click here for the recipe), and one heaping teaspoon of dried red chiles in oil. Add 2 whole, skin-on bone-in chicken breasts, 6 sliced cloves of garlic, a thumb of chopped ginger, 10 (or more) whole black peppercorns, and a teaspoon of turmeric, and toss to coat. Add enough water to cover by about an inch, one 14 -ounce can of diced Red Pack tomatoes, and a couple of diced carrots. Bring to a boil and then gently simmer until reduced by half.  Remove the chicken and once cool, take off the skin and shred the meat. Add the meat back to the pot, along with a cup of coconut milk, salt to taste, and more chile pepper if desired. Meanwhile, cook one cup dry Basmati rice and add the cooked rice to the pot. Add more liquid if necessary, as well as salt and pepper. In a skillet, fry another onion along with a tablespoon of raw curry powder. Add this to the soup pot and serve with a slice of lime and slivered green onion.

If this doesn't cure what ails you, you need to go see your doctor asap.

By the way, if you have a minute please go check out Nancy of Spicie Foodie's Best Recipes of 2011 round up. I went against type and submitted something sweet.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a ton of blogs to catch up on!