Name: Good Vegetable Mullagatawny
Ingredients: 4 ounces butter; 4 large mild onions, sliced; 3 pounds young vegetable marrow, cut in large dice; 4 large or 6 moderate-sized cucumbers, pared, split, and seeded; 3 to 6 large apples, according to taste; 3 heaped tablespoons mild curry powder; 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt; Boiling water (or broth/stock if preferred)

Why it works: Onion and cucumber match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,050 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Good Vegetable Mullagatawny

2 quarts of soup

Ingredients

4 ounces butter
4 large mild onions, sliced
3 pounds young vegetable marrow, cut in large dice
4 large or 6 moderate-sized cucumbers, pared, split, and seeded
3 to 6 large apples, according to taste
3 heaped tablespoons mild curry powder
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
Boiling water (or broth/stock if preferred)

Directions

Prepare the vegetables

In a large stewpan or thick iron saucepan, melt the butter until it's about to brown.
Add the sliced onions, vegetable marrow, cucumbers, and apples. Stir well.
Cook over gentle heat, shaking the pan often, until the vegetables are tender.

Make the soup

Mix in the curry powder and salt, then stew for an additional 20 to 30 minutes.
Pour in enough boiling water to just cover the vegetables and cook until reduced to a pulp.
Press the mixture through a fine sieve with a wooden spoon into a clean stewpan.
Add enough additional liquid to make 2 quarts of soup.

Finish and serve

Adjust seasoning with salt, cayenne, or acid as needed, and serve hot.
If butter appears on the surface, skim it off or stir in a small dessert spoon of arrowroot mixed with cold broth or water.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Onion + cucumbertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,050 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + appletop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,706 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together42,912 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Cucumber + appletop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together363 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + appletop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,206 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter: Adds richness and flavour, and helps the onions soften without sticking.
Onions: Provide sweetness and body as they soften and break down into the soup.
Vegetable marrow: Forms the bulk of the soup and thickens it as it cooks to a pulp.
Cucumbers: Contribute moisture and a mild, fresh flavour that softens when cooked.
Apples: Add natural sweetness and acidity that balance the curry powder.
Curry powder: Supplies the spice and aroma that define the soup's flavour.

The step that matters

Cook until reduced to a pulp. The vegetables must break down fully so the sieved soup is smooth; under-cooked pieces stay fibrous and resist pressing through the sieve, while stirring with the pan's lid off helps control evaporation and concentration.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, onion, cucumber):

Avocadofits better
Coconutfits better
Mangofits better
Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, onion, cucumber. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Good Vegetable Mullagatawny