Lentils make a wonderful base for soups. Quick to prepare and really cost-effective, they make frequent appearances in our kitchen. I’ve treated them much like a traditionally prepared dhal: cook the lentils until done, prepare a flavourful garnish then add it to the lentils, prepare a strongly flavoured oil that gets stirred in at the last moment. While it sounds like a decent amount of work, it actually comes together quite quickly.
Indian Red Lentil Soup
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Two Happy Rabbits
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup red lentils, picked over to check for small stones (it doesn’t happen often, but you will occasionally find some)
- 6 cups water
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 medium onions, diced small
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped. Around 3-4 tablespoons.
- 1 tablespoon curry powder or garam masala
- 1 28oz can whole plum tomatoes with juice, tomatoes roughly crushed
- 1 jalapeno or serrano chili, sliced (optional)
- 2 tablespoons oil, I prefer refined coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
- 3 dried red chilies, options (use Arbol or Kashmiri)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring the lentils, water, and turmeric to a simmer. Reduce the heat and cook until the lentils are fully cooked and beginning to fall apart, about 15 minutes
- Meanwhile, add the oil to a hot saute pan and cook the onions until they start to brown, about 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic and ginger, cooking for about 2 minutes. Add the curry powder or garam masala and cook for another minute.
- Add the tomatoes with their juice and the chili pepper. Reduce the heat a little and let it simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, leaving a fairly thick and chunky tomato sauce. Add it to the cooked lentils. Bring the lentils back to a simmer while you prepare the spiced oil.
- To finish the soup, heat the final measure of oil in a medium pan until hot. Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and dried chilies. They may sputter and pop a little, so be careful. Cook until the chilies have deepened in
colour and the mustard seeds have stopped popping. This will take 30 seconds to a minute. Stir the spices, chilies, and oil into the lentils. - Check the seasoning and add salt to taste. If you would like, add a little lemon juice too.
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