Another lovely idea for #meatlessmonday: a lentil soup inspired by the traditional Indian cuisine, nourishing and rich in flavour!
Chiara x
Lentil and Carrots Dahl
(serves 4)
200 g red split lentils
3 medium-sized carrots
1 large shallot (or 2 small)
4-5 sundried tomatoes
1 tsp freshly grated ginger (or 1/3 tsp ginger powder)
1 tsp turmeric powder
a pinch of cayenne pepper
½ tsp tahini per person
extra virgin olive oil or ghee
option 1: ½ tsp garam masala
option 2: ½ tsp cumin and coriander seeds, ½ tsp fennel seeds, ¼ tsp cinnamon powder, 1-2 small cloves.
Heat a little bit of olive oil in a pot over a medium heat. Add the chopped shallot and stir until turns golden. Add the lentils (previously rinsed with water using a colander) and mix well. Add the chopped sundried tomatoes and enough water to keep the lentils covered. Add also the bay leaves and crushed fennel seeds (half of the total amount that you are using for this recipe). While the lentils are cooking, keep adding water in small amounts to be sure that there won’t be water left when they will be ready, but just a nice creamy soup.
After approx. 10 minutes, add the finely chopped carrots, with turmeric, cayenne pepper, and ginger. Mix well. If you are using the garam masala mix add that too. Cook the lentils for approx. 25 minutes or until they start to become quite creamy.
If you are using the mix of spices: heat in a pan ½ tbsp of olive oil and add the cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir well until fragrant. You can crush them in a mortar before or after toasting them. Add your mix of spices into the dahl and mix well – remove the bay leaves.
When the dahl is ready, turn off the heat – add ½ tsp of tahini per person and mix well. Leave to rest in the covered pot for 5-10 minutes before serving. You can serve it as itself with just a little bit of olive oil on top or you can decide to use some fresh parsley and/or a dollop of yogurt as topping. You can also decide to add a few slices of fresh green chilli on top for some extra spiciness.
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