Elaine: "Do you need anything?"
Kramer: "Oh, a hot bowl of Mulligatawny would hit the spot."
Elaine: "Mulligatawny?"
Kramer: "Yeah, it's an Indian soup. Simmered to perfection by one of the great soup artisans in the modern era."
Elaine: "Oh. Who, the Soup Nazi?"
Kramer: "He's not a Nazi. He just happens to be a little eccentric. You know, most geniuses are."

Kramer was right. Al Yeganeh -- otherwise known as the Soup Nazi from the Seinfeld episode which aired in 1995 -- is a master at the soup kettle. His popular soup creations have inspired many inferior copycats in the Big Apple, including The Soup Nutsy, only 10 blocks away. Yeganeh's mastery shows when he combines sometimes unusual ingredients to create unique and delicious flavors in his much-raved about soups. In this one, you may be surprised when you discover pistachios and cashews among the many vegetables. But it's a combination that works.

In April I took a trip to New York and tasted around a dozen of the Soup Nazi's creations. TheMulligatawny was among my favs. After each daily trip to Soup Nazi's headquarters, I immediately headed back to the hotel and poured samples of the soups into labeled, sealed containers which were then chilled for the trip back home. There, in the home lab (okay, it's a kitchen) portions of the soup were rinsed through a sieve and ingredients were identified. After that, it was a matter of trial and error, figuring out the measurements for those ingredients. The result was a successful clone that I can now share with you. Just be sure when you make this soup, that you simmer it for at least four hours or until the soup reduces by more than half. The soup will darken as the flavors intensify, the potatoes will begin to fall apart and the nuts will soften. If you follow these directions you should end up with a clone that would fool even Cosmo himself.

Next Thursday, the big Seinfeld finale...and the most requested Soup Nazi clone of all.

4 quarts water (16 cups)
6 cups chicken stock
2 potatoes, peeled & sliced
2 carrots, peeled & sliced
2 stalks celery, with tops
2 cups peeled & diced eggplant (about 1/2 of an eggplant)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup frozen yellow corn
2/3 cup canned roasted red pepper, diced
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 cup roasted cashews
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
dash marjoram
dash nutmeg

1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot over high heat.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 4-5 hours or until soup has reduced by more than half, and is thick and brownish in color. It should have the consistency of chili. Stir occasionally for the first few hours, but stir often in the last hour. The edges of the potatoes should become more rounded, and the nuts will soften. Serve hot. (http://www.topsecretrecipes.com)
Makes 4-6 servings.

Tidbits
Because of the extreme reduction, I found that the salt in the chicken stock was enough for the recipe. However, if you use a stock that isn't so salty, you may find you need to add extra salt to the soup.

Check out the e-mail tips and notes for this recipe.