Lentils and Friends

DEAR SOS: I hope you can obtain the recipe for the mulligatawny soup served at Anarkali Indian Restaurant in Hollywood. It’s delicious.

DEANNA MARTINEZ

Monterey Park

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DEAR DEANNA: The recipe is great for a large gathering.

* Bowl from Bell Marketing Group at the L.A. Mart.

Send requests to Culinary SOS, Food Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 or e-mail to food@latimes.com. Please include your last name and city of residence for publication. Include restaurant address when requesting recipes from restaurants. We are unable to answer recipe requests by mail.

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Anarkali Mulligatawny

Active Work Time: 30 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 1/2 hours * Vegetarian

You can find pureed garlic and pureed ginger in small jars at well-stocked supermarkets.

16 cups water

1 pound red lentils

2 tablespoons pureed garlic

2 tablespoons pureed ginger root

1 onion, diced

2 large carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, thinly sliced

3 tomatoes, finely chopped

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 tablespoon salt or to taste

1 bunch finely chopped cilantro

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Bring the water to a boil in a soup pot. Add the lentils and cook 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, onion, carrots, celery, tomatoes, turmeric, curry, salt and cilantro. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the soup is reduced almost by one-fourth, 1 hour.

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10 to 12 servings. Each of 12 servings: 70 calories; 617 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 0 saturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 4.66 grams fiber.

Abracadabra-It’s Chowder DEAR SOS: The clam chowder at Norm’s restaurant in Costa Mesa is heaven. Can you get the chef to reveal his magic?

SID FISHER

Palm Springs

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DEAR SID: The “magic” seems to be in the balance of ingredients, plus a generous amount of butter.

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Norm’s Clam Chowder

Active Work Time: 25 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour

You’ll need 4 to 5 pounds of clams to get 1 pound of clam meat, or you can substitute 3 (6-ounce) cans minced clams.

1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice

2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1/2 cup flour

2 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice

4 cups whole milk

1 pound clam meat, strained and chopped, juice reserved

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

Salt, pepper

1/2 pound white fish filet, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 cup whipping cream

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Cook the onion and celery in the butter over medium heat until tender. Add the flour and stir to mix well, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the potatoes, milk, reserved clam juice, half the parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Cover, bring to a boil. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, 10 minutes.

Add the chopped clams and fish and cook until the fish is tender, 10 minutes. Add the whipping cream. Bring the chowder to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes longer. Adjust seasoning. Add the remaining parsley and stir well.

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6 to 8 servings. Each of 8 servings: 562 calories; 445 mg sodium; 171 mg cholesterol; 41 grams fat; 21 grams saturated fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 26 grams protein; 1.55 grams fiber.

How to Squash Your Diet DEAR SOS: My family spent a long weekend at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort in Indian Wells, where we enjoyed the winter squash bisque. I’d love to make it at home.

CAROL NEUMARK

Encino

DEAR CAROL: It’s a wonderfully rich, velvety soup, ideal for dinners when all diet bets are off. You can serve it with crackers or croutons, if you wish.

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Hyatt’s Squash Bisque

Active Work Time: 25 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

3 stalks celery, diced

1/4 onion, diced

1 (1-inch) piece ginger root, minced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

8 cups chicken stock

4 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed

1/2 cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

1 cup whipping cream

Salt, pepper

Creme fraiche or whipped cream for garnish

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Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and cook until the onion is translucent, 5 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and heat through. Add the chicken stock, squash and cinnamon stick. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove and discard the cinnamon stick. Pour the soup into a blender in batches and puree until smooth (or use a hand-held blender to blend it in the soup pot). Return the soup to the saucepan. Add the brown sugar, molasses, whipping cream and salt and pepper to taste. Serve in warm bowls topped with a dollop of creme fraiche.

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8 to 10 servings. Each of 10 servings: 195 calories; 1,058 mg sodium; 29 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.51 gram fiber.