Red Lentil Soup

[Patsy33]

Made a nice red lentil soup yesterday. I put onions, garlic, carrots and celery with plenty of salt n pepper. It was quite tasty but there was something missing. Could have had more flavour. Any ideas??

[dannyk13]

A dash of chilli powder.

[237SJ]

I would have put cumin in it.

[AuntLydia]

A ham shank.

[Rosie29]

I agree cumin - yummy.

[Old_Geezer]

Better quality ingredients ?
(Could lose the celery; keeping it in risks ruining the flavour.)

[chelle7272]

Yes chilli or cumin, lovely

[Patsy33]

Thanks all. My first time using lentils! First recipe I found on line. Will try all suggested next time.

[237SJ]

That sounds a lot like Middle Eastern lentil soup. They put turmeric in it and serve with a wedge of lemon which makes it a bit tangy

[Patsy33]

Would that give it a curry taste??

[237SJ]

Not really. Turmeric doesn't have a lot of flavour. It turns the soup yellow. I have a really nice recipe for lentil soup if you want it's more of an indian style.

[Patsy33]

Yes please!

[dannyk13]

Another way of using red lentils is to put them in a chicken curry.

[retrocop]

Make a Tarka Dhaal and add more water to loosen it into a soup.I recall black mustard seeds are used for the Tarka bit

[bainbrig]

1) Cook the lentils first. Add some chopped onion and a medium chopped tomato to the water. Cook gently till it’s like thin porridge.

2) Heat some oil (or butter), add a teaspoon of cumin seeds, stir for a minute. Add some chopped garlic and ginger, cook for a minute.

3) Add half an onion, finely chopped, cook gently for 6-8 minutes.

4) Add a couple of finely chopped tomatoes, stir and cook for 3-4 minutes.

5) Now the spices. The trick is not to add too much - less is definitely more!
1/2 tspoon turmeric
pinch of asafoetida (not vital)
1 tspn ground coriander
1/2 tspn chilli powder (Kashmiri is mild)
2 saltspoons salt (make it 1 if you’ve already salted the lentils)
tiny pinch of garam masalla (watch it! use too much and it will dominate)

6) Stir, then add the lentils, plus some vegetable stock to make it the consistency you like. Less stock will give you a dall as a side dish, more will give you soup.

Tip: taste as you go, adjusting the spices/salt to taste.

Good cooking!

BillB

[rowanwitch]

Sumac would be good too, it has a slightly sharp note.
I would probably go down the middle eastern route
I am making a chicken and vegetable soup with red lentil pasta at the moment, using up some of the immature peppers from the pots with leek, carrot chilli, garlic , and at the last minute courgettes. I am using basilmint which is halfway between the two, and oregano. I will also stir in some soya beans for even more protein.

[237SJ]

4 tbsp veg oil 1 tsp turmeric
2 smallish onions 1 tsp ground cumin
3 garlic cloves 1 tsp ground coriander
2 red chillies, chopped 1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 cm ginger 2 tsp tamarind paste
800g ripe tomatoes, chopped (I use 400 g and a 400g tin)
250 mg dried lentils
500 ml veg or chicken stock
Handful of chopped coriander
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook lentils and drain. I break them down a bit with a hand blender but if depends if you like them whole or broken down. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Stir fry the onions, garlic, chillies and ginger until golden. Stir in the spices and cook quickly for 2 mins, stirring often. Mix the tamarine with a little hot water and add. Add tomatoes and fresh coriander. Cook until the tomatoes are mushy and remove from the heat. Add the stock. Season and puree with a hand blender. Add the lentils, star anise and warm through.

[LadyCG]

Sweet potato, red lentil and coconut soup is nice, with a dollop of red thai curry paste for extra flavouring.

Cumin would otherwise be my flavouring of choice.

[237SJ]

Sorry tried to post those ingredients in two columns but it didn`t come out like that.

[Patsy33]

Thank you everyone!

[AuntLydia]

Cover a ham shank in cold water bring to the boil drain then back in pan with fresh water,bay leaf onion carrot celery and pepper . Simmer for 2 hours.

Remove ham shank and sieve stock into jug. In large pan saute chopped carrot onions celery in butter, add raw rinsed red lentils and finally ham stock.

Bring to boil and simmer until lentils are cooked, boiling off excess liquid or adding a little depending how thick you like your soup.

I add in flakes of the saved ham shank and serve with crusty bread or a ham sandwich (made from the shank)

That's proper English Food