mulligatawny
/mʌlɪɡəˈtɔːni/
mulligatawny means an Indian soup having a meat base and curry seasoning.
mulligatawny is pronounced /mʌlɪɡəˈtɔːni/.
Why “mulligatawny” is a great word
A thick, spiced soup of Anglo-Indian origin, typically made with a meat stock, vegetables, and seasoned with curry. Its name is a colonial transmutation of the Tamil words மிளகு (miḷaku, 'pepper') and தண்ணீர் (taṇṇīr, 'water'), literally 'pepper water,' first recorded in English in 1775–85. Unlike a 'consommé,' which is a strained and rarified essence, or a 'curry,' which denotes a broader category of sauced dishes, mulligatawny is its own hearty, hybrid entity—a soup that is its own complete, spiced world. It is the amber depth of a long-simmered stock, the warm abrasion of ground pepper and turmeric against the tongue, and the way a single taste can conjure both the chill of a London dining room and the imagined heat of a Madras veranda—the body remembering warmth long before the mind catches up.
Etymology
Borrowed from Tamil மிளகுத்தண்ணீர் (miḷakuttaṇṇīr, literally “pepper water”).
noun
- An Indian soup having a meat base and curry seasoning.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- curry 59% match — One of a family of dishes originating from Indian cuisine, flavored by a spiced sauce. vs mulligatawny →
- rasam 59% match — A spicy South Indian soup made with tamarind juice. vs mulligatawny →
- slumgullion 58% match — A stew of meat and vegetables. vs mulligatawny →
- moilee 58% match — An Indian curry, originally from Kerala, containing fish or seafood and coconut milk. vs mulligatawny →
- korma 56% match — A curry made from various spices especially coriander and cumin; and often with yoghurt sauce or nuts. vs mulligatawny →
- currylike 56% match — Resembling curry (the spicy food) or some aspect of it. vs mulligatawny →
- massaman 55% match — A Thai curry of Muslim origin (or the paste used to make it), usually containing coconut milk, roasted peanuts, potatoes, bay leaves, cardamom pods, cinnamon, palm sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind sauce. vs mulligatawny →
- dhansak 55% match — An Indian curry with lentils, vegetables, spices, cumin seeds, ginger, and garlic together with meat and either gourd or pumpkin. vs mulligatawny →