Mulligatawny Soup

This recipe is from a fellow food lover friend; when he made it awhile ago he let me taste a little. Lately I have been craving it, so I made it.  I made a few adjustments more because of what I had on hand.  I thought the result was good, but I will need to take some to my friend to see what he thinks.  So here it is...

Mulligatawny Soup

4 cloves of garlic
1 piece of ginger (about 1 1/2 inches long), minced
1/4 cup of water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium onions, chopped
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut*
1-1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup flour
7 cups chicken stock (I used vegetable stock)
2 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium rib of celery, roughly chopped
1 medium banana, or potato

Place 2 peeled whole garlic cloves and 2 teaspoons of ginger with the water in a blender, blend until smooth. Leave in blender and set aside.

Heat butter, over medium heat in a large dutch oven, until it starts to foam.  Add onion and tomato paste. Stirring frequently, until onions are soft and starting to brown. Stir in coconut, continue cooking until the coconut is fragrant.

Add minced garlic, remaining ginger, curry powder, cumin, cayenne and flour until combined. Whisking constantly, gradually add broth.

Add carrots, celery and banana (or potato). Increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil.  Cover reduce to low and simmer until the vegetables are tender.

In the blender with the garlic and ginger, puree soup, in batches, until smooth.

Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream.

*I only had sweetened coconut, so I used it but opted to use the potato instead of the banana so it wouldn't be too sweet (and it was not too sweet).