Fragrant mulligatawny soup brings a taste of India

Mulligatawny is a traditional curry soup with Indian origins. It’s a fragrant blend of tangy curry powder, ginger and coconut milk. Golden delicious apples add a sweet crunchy touch and chicken cubes complete this one dish dinner.

A note about curry powder: authentic curry powder is a blend of freshly ground spices and herbs such as cardamom, chilies, cinnamon, cloves, coriander and cumin and is made fresh every day. For this quick meal, commercial curry powder works well. It comes in two forms, standard and Madras, the hotter one.

• Helpful Hints:

Curry powder can be found in the spice section of the supermarket. It loses its freshness after 2 to 3 months.

• Countdown:

Start soup.

While soup simmers, make rice.

Complete soup and serve with rice.

Mulligatawny Soup

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup sliced onion

1/2 cup sliced carrot

1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2- to 1-inch pieces

1/2 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon flour

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger or 2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 1/2 cups fat-free, unsalted chicken broth

1 cup water

1/2 cup lite coconut milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup 1/2-inch cubes golden delicious apple

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

4 lemon wedges

Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and chicken and saute 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the curry powder, flour and ginger and saute about 30 seconds. Stir in chicken broth, water and coconut milk. Simmer 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. To serve, spoon rice into 2 large soup bowls and ladle soup on top. Sprinkle with apple cubes and cilantro. Place lemon wedges on side.

Yield 2 servings.

Per serving: 337 calories (34% from fat), 12.7 g fat (7.4 g saturated, 2.6 g monounsaturated), 100 mg cholesterol, 32 g protein, 25.9 g carbohydrates, 4.4 g fiber, 200 mg sodium.

Microwaveable Brown Rice

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

1 package microwave brown rice (1 1/2 cups cooked)

2 teaspoons canola oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Microwave rice according to package instructions. Measure 1 1/2 cups rice and reserve remaining rice for another time. Add oil and salt and pepper to taste. Toss well.

Yield 2 servings.

Per serving: 226 calories (24% from fat), 6 g fat (0.7 g saturated, 3.4 g monounsaturated), no cholesterol, 4.2 g protein, 38.8 g carbohydrates, 2.4 g fiber, 6 mg sodium.