Red Lentil Soup

Name: Red Lentil Soup
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 2 h 5 min
Yield: 6-8 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups dried red lentils; 2 medium onions, chopped; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; 4 teaspoons chili powder; 3 teaspoons ground coriander; 2 teaspoons turmeric; 2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon cayenne; 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom; 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves; 5 cups water; 3 cups chicken broth

Submitted by ratherbeswimmin

"This is probably not for everyone, but if you are into spices, you might want to give this a try. As always, adjust whatever spice to your taste."

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Ready In:: 2hrs 5mins
Ingredients:: 15
Serves:: 6-8

ingredients

2 ¹⁄₂ cups dried red lentils
2 medium onions, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons chili powder
3 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons ground cumin
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¹⁄₂ teaspoon cayenne
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground cardamom
¹⁄₈ teaspoon ground cloves
5 cups water
3 cups chicken broth

directions

In a bowl, place lentils and add water to cover.
Let soak for 1 hour, then drain.
Heat oil in a large saucepan.
Saute onions until golden brown.
Add next 10 ingredients and cook over low heat, stirring occasionaly, for 5 minutes.
Add lentils, water and broth; simmer until lentils are very tender, about 25-35 minutes.
You can eat the soup at this point or if you prefer, you can let the soup cool, pour into a blender container (in batches) and puree.
If you puree the soup, then you will need to reheat it.
Ladle into individual soup bowls.

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Reviews

Wow Nurse Di, this one really blew our hair back. We are not afraid of spices so I knew we would like this. Had a very exotic flair. I opted not to puree the soup because we liked the chunkiness of the lentils. Wonderful and I highly recommend this to any spice freaks.

PixieDust
Due to diet restrictions, I did omit the salt called for in the recipe, and reduced the oil to 2 teaspoons. After 25 minutes I found the flavor to be watery, which surprised me due to the heavy spices in the recipe. This was most likely from my ommission of the salt. However, after an hour of gentle simmering, the flavors strengthened and came together to form a wonderful spicy blend and the aroma was great also. Thank you Nurse Di for this wonderful (and healthy) soup recipe. It is certainly one which I will make again.

BonnieZ
This soup certainly packs a punch. It is very similar to soups I have had in Morocco. I used quick cooking lentils, so I didn't have to pre-soak them but I did need to add more water to the soup (1-2 cups). I used a hand blender to blitz this soup a few times, giving it a semi-smooth texture. Thanks for yet another great recipe!

Sackville
Awesome spices in this soup. Not for the weak palate, though. I only used 1 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. I pureed about half of the soup which gave it a thicker consistancy and still had some chunkiness with the remaining lentils. I don't know if this freezes well, but I put half of it in the freezer for later. Thanks for an exotic and spicy soup.

Jillian L
I absolutely adore the spices. It is warm and delightful. That saying I omitted the salt and used low sodium vegetable broth. 1000 mg of sodium is far too much for me. I also use a stick immersion blender to make it much easier. Since I find measuring all the spices to be tedious I measure portions ahead of time. When I’m in the mood for this soup all I have to do is throw the lentils and spices directly in the pot without having to measure again everything. Thank you for this recipe ratherbeswimin.

hollylkhoffman