Mulligatawny is a curry

Curry

Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...

-flavoured soup of Anglo-Indian

Anglo-Indian cuisine

Anglo-Indian cuisine is the often distinct cuisine of the Anglo-Indian community in both Britain and India, as well as in America and Australia....

 origin.

Translated literally from Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

, "Mulligatawny" or "Milagu Thanni" means "pepper water" ("Millagu" மிளகு means pepper and "Thanni" தண்ணீர் means water). The dish the Anglo-Indians call "pepper water" is actually closer to Tamilian ரசம்-Rasam

Rasam

Rasam is a South Indian soup. Traditional preparation involves tamarind juice as base in addition to tomato, chili pepper and other spices as seasonings. Steamed lentils are added by some along with any preferred vegetables. Nowadays all the seasonings required are combined and ground beforehand...

 than "mulligatawny".

There are many variations on the recipe for mulligatawny. In the West, the soup typically has a turmeric

Turmeric

Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...

-like yellow colour and chicken meat

Chicken (food)

Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...

, beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

, or lamb meat. Often it is thickened with rice.