Spiced red lentil soup (Recipe)

In the autumn and winter I crave warming, comforting soups, stews and curries most evenings. As I am from Birmingham, I really enjoy Indian food which is widely available back home, but not so much in Iceland! This soup is one of my favourite recipes, and results in something similar to Indian dahl.

Serves 6

Prep time - 5 minutes
Cook time -25 minutes

Ingredients:

  • Vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
  • 1 red chili, finely chopped (optional)
  • 500g bag of lentils
  • 1 medium potato
  • Vegetable stock cube
  • 2 tablespoons of garam masala
  • Cumin (optional)
  • Turmeric (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon of paprika
  • Cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
  • Salt
  • Pepper
Method:

  • Heat the oil in a saucepan. Finely dice the onion, garlic and chili and fry until soft (not browned).
  • Add a full kettle of boiled water to the pan with a crushed stock cube.
  • Add the bag of lentils
  • Peel and cube the potato into small cubes and add to the pan.
  • Add the spices. For the optional spices, start with a teaspoon full and adjust to taste.
  • Turn the heat down to medium and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir the soup, when the lentils start to break down and the potato is mashable the soup is ready.
  • Mash any visible potato cubes into the soup.
  • Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve with bread or rice and enjoy!
This makes quite a thick soup, similar in texture to dhal. Add more water after cooking if a thinner consistency is required.
This soup freezes well. I usually make a large batch and freeze in individual portions for a quick dinner on weeknights.

No comments:

INSTAGRAM