Indian Lentil Soup (Dal Shorva)

"An inexpensive, easy-to-make and delicious soup. This slightly modified recipe stems from Mumtaz Khan at Mumtaz Paan House in Bradford, England. Mung beans is the exquisite choice, but red or yellow lentils also make a delicious result (green lentils are not recommended). The chicken stock can be replaced with vegetable stock for a vegetarian variety. This recipe can also be made with less liquid and served as a stew.¨ Improvement, a little off tradition, but works even better: 1) Fry the lentils/beans for a few seconds in ghee before adding the spices and liquid. 2) Add just a little tomato purée (1 tsp) to the soup. 3) Add one diced potato together with the lentils/beans."
 
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photo by limeandspoontt photo by limeandspoontt
photo by limeandspoontt
photo by limeandspoontt photo by limeandspoontt
photo by limeandspoontt photo by limeandspoontt
photo by AmandaInOz photo by AmandaInOz
photo by Redsie photo by Redsie
Ready In:
36mins
Ingredients:
12
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Rinse the beans or lentils.
  • Bring to a boil with the stock, turmeric, Cayenne, cumin, cardamom and curry/bay leaves.
  • Let simmer until the beans or lentils are very soft (ca 30 minutes).
  • If using bay leaves, remove them now. Curry leaves can be left in the soup.
  • Run the soup quickly in a blender to a not too smooth consistency (or mash the lentils/beans with a ladle).
  • Sautee the garlic and mustard seeds lightly in the fat and add to the soup.
  • Let simmer for another 5 minutes.
  • Add salt, pepper and squeezed lemon to taste.
  • Serve hot with pita or paratha bread.

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Reviews

  1. this is a fantastic recipe and is utterly delicious. ive made it many times for the family and they all love it.
     
  2. This is the recipe I have been looking for. I've been trying to duplicate the soup from a local restaurant. I did leave out the mustard, oil and garlic, and added fresh grated ginger. Tossed everything into my electric pressure cooker set for 9 minutes on the "soup" setting. Perfect!
     
  3. I've made this soup twice and love it. I have to add my own touch to everything, so a chopped sauteed sweet onion was added, 2 diced carrots, some chopped celery. I always double the recipe so I can eat it the next day or freeze any left over. there rarely is.
     
  4. I made a profile here just to review this recipe. It is brilliant. I've made it both ways; with the recommended amount of liquid and with about four cups of stock and preferred it with less as it makes it more filling feeling. This is a new lifetime recipe for me.
     
  5. Delicous. Within the choices of the recipe...I used red lentils, curry leaves, homemade veggie stock, and ghee. I subbed mustard powder for the seeds since that was what I had on-hand. I also split the recipe in half for the two of us. Everything worked out very well. We ate it with basmati rice and naan, and we finished the entire dish! We will be keeping this super-simple & budget-friendly dish in our rotation for sure. Thanks for sharing!
     
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Tweaks

  1. I added 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds and fennel seeds each to the toasted mustard and garlic. Also 4 cloves of garlic vs 2. I used TJ's new chicken stock. I used my emulsion blender. Not bad for a cat, my slave told me it turned out awesome with nice crunchie twists! I would use less lemon next time i used a half.
     
  2. Equipment change: crockpot.
     
  3. Delicous. Within the choices of the recipe...I used red lentils, curry leaves, homemade veggie stock, and ghee. I subbed mustard powder for the seeds since that was what I had on-hand. I also split the recipe in half for the two of us. Everything worked out very well. We ate it with basmati rice and naan, and we finished the entire dish! We will be keeping this super-simple and budget-friendly dish in our rotation for sure. Thanks for sharing!
     
  4. What an epiphany to make lentil soup with mung beans. Definitely made for a gorgeous silky smooth soup. I got my split yellow mung beans at the Chinese grocer. The soup turned out fantastic despite some substitutions: 2 bouillon cubes with water instead of stock (but omitted salt), added some ground fenugreek and masala curry powder instead of curry leaves, and threw in a diced carrot and a couple sticks of celery with their leaves, near the end. So very delicious!
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

37 years, chef diploma, but nowadays a graduate in computer science and nuclear reactor physics. Also into polar research. <br> <br>Food is a passion.
 
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