MADRAS VELOUTÉ SOUP

There are recipes that involve stages.

There are recipes that involve pans.

There are recipes that involve chopping boards, frying, stirring, simmering and a kitchen that looks as though something fairly serious has happened.

This is not one of those recipes.

This is my Madras Velouté, a silky smooth chicken curry soup made entirely in the Ninja Soup Maker.

Two generous bowls.

One glass jug.

No frying pan.

No saucepan.

No drama.

Just chicken, spices, tomato, ginger and vegetables transformed into something rich, warming and ridiculously easy.

I wanted a curry soup that tasted like an actual curry.

Not ordinary vegetable soup with a teaspoon of curry powder thrown at it.

I wanted warmth.

Depth.

A proper Madras character.

A little sweetness.

A little heat.

And that smooth, glossy texture that makes it feel much posher than the amount of effort involved.

The Ninja is perfect for it.

Because the method is magnificently uncomplicated:

That’s it.

My sort of cooking. 😎

Because “chuck-it-all-in curry soup” doesn’t quite have the same dinner-party swagger. 😂

Velouté is the sort of word that makes a smooth bowl of soup sound as though someone in a white jacket has spent all afternoon preparing it.

In reality, I have pressed a button on the Ninja.

And I’m completely comfortable with that.

Into the Ninja Soup Maker goes:

🧅 ½ medium onion, roughly chopped

🥕 1 small carrot, roughly chopped

🥔 100g potato, diced

🫚 ½ frozen ginger cube, or around 1 teaspoon ginger

And then comes the important bit...

Straight into the jug:

No frying the spices.

No blooming them in oil.

No separate curry base.

Nothing.

They all go straight in with everything else.

This recipe is deliberately designed around laziness of the highest quality.

Put the lid on.

Press:

Walk away.

That genuinely is it.

The Ninja heats everything.

Cooks the vegetables.

Softens the potato.

Works the Madras spices through the stock.

Then blends everything into a completely smooth soup.

No stick blender.

No pan.

No transferring hot soup from one container to another while wondering which part of the kitchen I’m about to redecorate orange.

Just one machine doing the entire job.

This is the little trick that makes the whole idea work.

Using cooked chicken means I can genuinely put everything into the Ninja together and leave it alone.

The chicken becomes part of the soup rather than something floating around inside it.

Once blended, it adds richness and body.

So instead of:

I end up with:

Much better.

This is the bit I’m particularly interested in.

I want it smooth.

Really smooth.

No chunks.

No bits of carrot.

No pieces of chicken.

Everything disappears into one glossy Madras-coloured bowl.

The potato naturally gives it body.

The chicken makes it substantial.

The tomatoes give it richness.

The spices bring the warmth.

The result should sit somewhere between:

🍛 curry sauce.

That sounds like a very good neighbourhood to me.

Mango chutney.

Only two teaspoons.

But it matters.

It adds just enough sweetness to round out the tomato and chilli without turning the soup sweet.

Then the lemon cuts back through it.

Sweet.

Sharp.

Spicy.

Rich.

That combination is where this recipe should really start singing.

My starting point is:

The Madras powder gives it character and the chilli flakes add a little extra warmth.

If I want more:

🌶️ add more chilli.

If I want less:

leave the chilli flakes out.

The important thing is that the soup tastes of curry rather than merely heat.

There is a difference.

There is already another version forming in my head.

Replace 100ml of the chicken stock with:

And suddenly I’ve got:

Creamier.

Richer.

Slightly sweeter.

Probably dangerous with naan.

That experiment is definitely coming to NIX // KITCHEN.

Once the Ninja finishes, straight into two big bowls.

Then I can make it look considerably more sophisticated than the cooking method deserves.

A swirl of yoghurt.

A little chilli.

Fresh coriander if I’ve got some.

Maybe a tiny drizzle of mango chutney.

And naan on the side.

Because if I’m having a bowl of Madras, there should be naan involved somewhere.

These are simply the rules.

There are kitchen gadgets that seem like a brilliant idea when you buy them and then spend the next three years occupying valuable cupboard space.

The Ninja Soup Maker isn’t one of them.

This recipe is exactly why I like it.

I don’t need to stand at the cooker.

I don’t need to use several pans.

I don’t need to blend hot soup separately.

I load the glass jug.

Press a button.

And it gets on with it.

That earns it a proper place in [NIX // GADGETS](/gadgets).

NAME: Madras Velouté

FULL NAME: Silky Chicken Madras Curry Soup

SECTION: NIX // KITCHEN

MAKES: 2 generous bowls

GADGET: Ninja Soup Maker

TEXTURE: Completely smooth

HEAT: 🌶️🌶️

EFFORT: Almost suspiciously low

SAUCEPANS: 0

FRYING PANS: 0

EXTRA BLENDER: 0

NAAN: Strongly encouraged

I love recipes like this.

On paper it sounds quite grand:

Silky chicken.

Ginger.

Tomato.

Cumin.

Coriander.

Turmeric.

Garam masala.

Mango and lemon.

It sounds like I’ve been carefully building flavours over a hot stove for half the afternoon.

The reality?

I put everything into the Ninja and pressed SMOOTH SOUP.

And that, frankly, makes me like it even more.