One Of My Favourite Lentil Soup Recipes: Spiced Vegetable And Lentil Soup

I make a huge variety of lentil soup recipes, thanks to the wonderful versatility of the humble lentil. This particular recipe is a smooth and spicy red lentil soup which uses classic Indian spices.

Lentil Soup Ingredients

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
½ teaspoon turmeric
350g/12oz carrots, (2 cups, chopped)
125g/4½ oz/2/3 cup split red lentils, rinsed and drained
1 litre/1¾ pints/4¼ cups of vegetable stock (broth)
1 400g/14oz can of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
Raita or plain yoghurt to serve (optional)

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup kettle and sauté the onion until soft.  Stir in the carrot, garlic, chilli, ground coriander, cumin and turmeric. Cover and cook very slowly for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the lentils, chopped tomatoes and stock to the pot.  Stir well, turn up the heat and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until the lentils and carrots are soft.  You’ll need to stir occasionally to stop the lentils from sticking. 

3. Remove from the heat and purée using a hand blender or food processor.  Stir in the lemon juice and fresh coriander (cilantro) and season.  It only takes a couple of minutes to mix up some raita and a little swirled into each bowl of soup when serving makes it extra delicious (and nutritious).  Or you can just use plain yoghurt.

This is one of my favourite vegan lentil soup recipes. For another, entirely different but equally delicious vegetarian lentil soup, why not try my hearty lentil soup with green lentils.

 

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