Perhaps I’ve been too busy eating Red Lentil Soup instead of actually posting about it.
Well, here we go. I recently discovered that I love Aarti. I have NEVER seen her show on the Food Network (Baby Cupcake stares at the TV so it pretty much has to be off except for Carolina basketball games because of course it’s ok for her to stare at that), but all of Aarti’s recipes that I’ve tried via the Food Network website are simply incredible. She has helped me to expand my food horizons for sure. Her Palak/Saag Paneer recipe and Massaged Kale recipe are both family favorites now, so we tested out her Red Lentil Soup…and can now add that to our list, too (we’ve already had it twice!).
The first time we made it, we kept the seeds in the serrano pepper. My mouth was rather on fire. However, we remembered to add the honey and cilantro, and it was simply delicious. The second time, we made this soup for Paige and Bharat so we doubled the recipe (to still have leftovers!)–and that means 2 serrano peppers, but we just used seeds from one. This was much more manageable for a heat-lightweight such as myself. The major bummer was we forgot to add the honey and cilantro, but I still loved it. Hmmm…a recipe that you can alter (intentionally or not so much) and it still tastes good…got to love it.
Grocery costs: $0.50 red lentils, $0.89 onion, $0.42 green serrano chile, $1.59 tomatoes, $1.99 cilantro, pennies for garlic, ginger, oil, spices, and honey
Grand total: $5.39 with leftovers for lunch
**Don’t forget: Enter in the Wrap It Up giveaway by February 21, 2012!**
Red Lentil Soup
1 cup red lentils, washed and soaked for 1 hour
1 onion, diced
1 green serrano chile, diced (take out the seeds if you don’t want it to be HOT)
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2 Tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin (Aarti uses 1 teaspoon cumin seeds.)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Salt
Honey, to taste
Cilantro, to garnish
Allow red lentils to soak in water for 1 hour.
In a large soup pot, heat 1 Tablespoon oil. Saute the onions, serrano chile, ginger, and garlic cloves for just a few minutes to bring out the flavor. Add the lentils, tomatoes, and enough water to cover everything. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow soup to simmer for 30-45 minutes. Stir with a whisk a couple of times (this will break down the red lentils a bit).
In a separate small skillet over medium heat, heat 2 Tablespoons oil and stir in the cumin, turmeric, paprika. Stir to combine the oil and spices (it will become very fragrant after just a minute or so) and add the seasoned oil to the soup.
Add salt and honey, if desired. Serve it up in bowls! Garnish with cilantro.
Source: adapted from Aarti Sequeira
