Mulligatawny Stew - So Goddamn Good

Winter is coming, so I'm in soup mode. I want to learn how to make every (warm) soup. This "amazeballs" (my friend Kat said so) oddball is from the Cook's Illustrated "best 30-minute recipes" book. That said, I think it took a bit more than 30 minutes.

(I get annoyed by internet recipes that require me to scroll through 45 million cutesy photos before I can get to the actual information, so you get none of that. Just make this soup and put it in your belly.)

Ingredients:

6 C low-sodium chicken broth (I used Better Than Boullion)

1/2 C shredded unsweetened coconut

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used more like 1.5)

salt and ground black pepper

1 T vegetable oil (I used old drippings from some chicken...they'd also been seasoned with thyme and some other things, so not an entirely neutral flavor)

1 onion, minced

1 T grated fresh ginger

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 T curry powder

2 carrots, grated

1 very ripe banana, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (I actually did a banana and a plantain, because the banana I bought wasn't "very ripe" and the plantains were.)

3/4 C plain yogurt

2 T minced fresh cilantro

Method:

1. Bring broth and coconut just to boil, covered, in large saucepan and set aside.

2. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken and cook until lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate.

3. Add onion and 2/3 t salt to fat left in Dutch oven. Cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned, 3-5 minutes. Stir in ginger, garlic and curry powder, cook until fragrant (about 1 min).

4. Turn heat to low and stir in hot broth mixture, scraping up any browned bits. Add carrots, banana, and browned chicken. Cook, covered, until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in center--about 10 minutes. (I found this to take longer)

5. Remove chicken from pot. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until carrots are tender, about 5 minutes.

6. While soup is simmering, shred chicken into bite-sized pieces. Puree soup in batches in blender until smooth. Return pureed soup to pot, stir in chicken, and return to brief simmer to heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dollop yogurt over individual bowls of soup, sprinkle with cilantro, and serve.