Name: Potato-Coconut Milk Soup with Lemongrass and Chiles
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons canola oil; 4 medium-size to large shallots, coarsely chopped; ½ teaspoon kewra water, or 1 piece (2 inches) of fresh screwpine leaf (optional; see Tips); 4 to 6 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, to taste, stems removed; 10 to 12 medium-size to large fresh curry leaves; 1 pound russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into ¼-inch cubes, and submerged in a bowl of cold water to prevent browning; 2 tablespoons finely chopped lemongrass (see Tip); ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems; 1 large tomato, cored and finely chopped; 1 can (13.5 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk; 1½ teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt; ½ teaspoon tamarind paste or concentrate; 1 tablespoon dried salted Maldive fish, pounded (see Tips); 1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds

Preparation info

Serves
8

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

A hearty soup, this gathers together ingredients that are common in Sri Lanka, the tear-shaped island south of India. The flavors in this curry are simply amazing, using aromatics like curry and screwpine leaves, salty dried Maldive fish, tart tamarind, hot chiles, and lemony lemongrass. It all adds up to a somewhat salty, perfumed, irresistible bowlful. I often serve it as a main-course soup, with slices of warmed baguette alongside, during the winter months. A glass of Vouvray, Sancerre,