Dal
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Jessica Idleman
Recipe type: Soups
Cuisine: Winter
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or 1 tablespoon ghee)
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped and divided
- 3 cups water or vegetable broth or organic chicken broth
- 1 cup dried red lentils, stones removes, rinsed, and drained
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin seed or ground cumin
- ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¾ cup fresh cilantro, washed, stemmed, chopped
- 3 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced or 1 quart diced tomatoes.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
Instructions
- In a heavy soup pot over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and half of the garlic and continue sautéing over medium heat until tender (1-2 minutes). Gently pour in water or broth, lentils and turmeric, stirring until well combined. Increase heat to high and cook until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until lentils are tender, about 15 minutes.
- While the lentils are cooking, heat the ghee in a small sauté pan over medium heat until melted. Add cumin and cayenne and stir frequently for about 2 minutes, or until cumin stops sizzling. Add the remaining garlic and cook another 2 minutes until very fragrant. Remove from heat.
- When the lentils in the soup mixture are tender, w/ a hand mixer or a whisk, blend soup until it has a thick, creamy consistency. If you wish you may use a soup wand or a food processor to puree. When the soup is lightly pureed, stir in the ghee/spice mixture until thoroughly combined. Add tomato, salt and pepper to taste and simmer on low for another 5-10 minutes. Once served, add cilantro for presentation.
