South Indian Inspired Lentil Soup
(Rachel & Josh)
Best Soup
| Group 1: Boil till soft | Group 2: Chop (or food process) |
| 2 cups brown lentils (the grocery store variety) | 2 medium onions, diced |
| 1 cup red lentils* | 2-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed |
| 1 Knorr vegetarian bullion cube | 1-2 chili peppers, cayenne, Serrano or similar, minced |
| Water to cover 2+ times | 3/4 inch ginger, peeled and minced |
| Optional: dash or 3 of Asafetida (a.k.a. hing)** | |
| Group 3: Spices | Group 4: final additions |
| 1 Tbsp butter | 1 tsp salt or more/less to taste |
| 1 Tbsp oil (any kind you like, or use all oil and skip the butter for a vegan soup) | Juice of ½ lemon |
| 1 ½ tsp cumin seed | |
| 1 tsp black mustard seed (optional – it’s mostly for texture) | |
| 1 ½ tsp turmeric | |
| ½ tsp ground fenugreek | |
| handful of curry leaves*** | |
The process:
- Rinse the lentils in cold water a couple times. This cleans the beans and some say reduces flatulence.
- Add the remainder of the group 1 items to pot, and boil till beans are soft, about 1 hr on the stovetop or 3-5 hrs in a crockpot. Add water if it gets too dry, at any point in process.
- Chop the group 2 items, as noted.
- Heat a large frying pan on high/med and add oil and butter, then cumin and mustard seeds. Fry till they pop (1 minute)
- Add the chopped items to pan, then add all the other spices except for the salt. Fry on till browned and soft, about 5 minutes, reducing the temperature and stirring if things get out of control.
- Add fried stuff to soup. Optional: deglaze pan with a bit of water and add that also to soup too.
- Add salt, lemon juice, and taste-test, adjust salt or spice if desired. Let cook for another 15 minutes, min.
**Asafetida supposedly helps with bean digestibility and is used in Indian cooking sometimes as a substitute for onion flavor. It smells like ass.
***Curry leaves are a key flavor element, but can be omitted. They’re hard to find. Sources: Russo’s market in Watertown, or maybe an Indian grocery store. They keep for a long time and also freeze well.