Healthy Vegetarian Recipes - Curried Lentil Soup

You don't have to be a vegetarian to enjoy some healthy meat free meals. I often try to make up some healthy vegetarian recipes and this curried lentil soup is one of them.

The curried lentil soup is even better if made up the day before you eat it because the lentils have chance to take on the wonderful flavours of the spices.

I like this curried lentil soup to be on the spicy side so sometimes I blend a small chilli in with the onions, garlic and ginger but that is purely due to personal taste, if you dont like the curried lentil soup to have such a hot kick just follow the recipe as it is or adjust the amount of cayenne pepper to suit.

• 1 large chopped onion
• 1 inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 fat cloves of garlic
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• pinch of cinnamon
• 1 cardamon pod
• 2 cups lentils
• 8 cups water

Blend the onion, ginger and garlic together with 3 tablespoons of water until you have a smooth paste.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the cayenne pepper, cumin, coriander, black pepper and cinnamon for 2 to 3 minutes.

Pour the paste into the saucepan with the spices and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring continuously until the mixture begins to thicken and turn slightly brown.

Add the lentils together with 8 cups of water and the cardamom pod and simmer for about an hour until the lentils have become very soft.

Remove the cardamom pod before serving and serve garnished with a spoonful of yoghurt and coriander (cilantro) leaves.

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