Ginger Pea Soup (Indian)

When we were in San Diego, Matt and I went out to our favorite Indian restaurant in San Diego--Bombay in the Hillcrest area. We shared a soup called Ginger Mutter (Pea) Soup. The description on their menu reads:
Creamy pea soup spiced with fresh ginger, roasted cumin and garlic, topped with fresh cilantro.

This soup was SO good that I decided to try to figure out how to make it myself. I combined a few different recipes, the description above, and my own taste and below is what I came up with today. I think it tastes very similar, but we'll see what Matt thinks when he comes home for dinner!

Ginger Mutter (Pea) Soup
3 ½ cups chicken broth or water
2 medium potatoes
2 ½-3 cups frozen peas
½ onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 t. ginger (or to taste)
1 t. cumin
½ t. black pepper
1 t. garam masala
1 t. salt
1 c. plain yogurt
Cilantro (to taste)

Boil all ingredients except for yogurt until vegetables are tender (12-14 minutes). Let partly cool. Blend in parts, adding yogurt and cilantro. Garnish with additional cilantro on top.

Spicy Mulligatawny Soup

This is from my new Cooking Light cookbook that I got for Christmas. (Thanks, Mom!) After living in India and tasting several versions of mulligatawny, I don't know how authentic this is, but it was really yummy. Matt requested that I make it again already this week.

This was pretty spicy, but I also used hot mango chutney. I also substituted cilantro for the parsley to make it more authentic.

Spicy Mulligatawny Soup
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup chopped peeled Gala or Braeburn apple
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup mango chutney
1/4 cup tomato paste
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Preparation

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and sauté 3 minutes. Remove from pan; set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in pan. Add apple and next 4 ingredients (apple through bell pepper); sauté 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and next 4 ingredients (flour through salt); cook 1 minute. Stir in broth, chutney, and tomato paste; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; simmer 8 minutes. Return chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes or until mixture is thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.