If India has a staple dish, it must be Dahl. Indians call it Dahl. I call it Red Lentil Soup. What would you like to call it? Dal or soup, this Red Lentil Soup Recipe is comfort food at its best, along with healthy and exciting flavors.

As you start cooking the vegetables and adding spices, the kitchen smells wonderful. You realize this recipe for Red Lentil Soup is merely guidance, and can you adapt and go in any direction you’d like. There are many possible variations here, from the spices to the consistency of the soup. You might want it more like grits consistency than soup, and that’s fine too.

The red lentils do not take a long time to cook. Twenty to thirty minutes is all you need to prepare this soup. And by the way, it freezes very well.

Everyone has their own version of this soup, and I guess by now, my family can quickly recognize the typical flavors, heat, and spice profiles from my cooking habits. Especially starting with cold oil and cooking the garlic slowly before anything else until it’s just golden. Then adding the onions, followed by spices, and making a delicious sofrito. Yum!

Although red lentils are not tied to my childhood, I’m blessed enough to live in an area where I can eat Indian food on a frequent basis. Lentils are a staple not only of Indian cuisine but all over south Asian countries. If India has a staple dish, it must be Dahl (also spelled Daal, dhal, or dal), a term used for dried, split pulses or legumes such as lentils, dried peas, and beans.

About the Lentils:

Be sure to rinse the lentils before cooking to get rid of the husk or debris. You can use other types of lentils to make Dahl, or Red Lentil Soup. Just make sure to adjust the cooking time as it can vary depending on the type of lentils.

Latin America and Southeast Asia share a lot of unique ingredients like ginger, lemongrass, turmeric, coconut, mango, and other tropical fruits and spices. These days, I like to bring a little touch of Latin influence to everything I cook, which is the joy of cooking.

About the Spices:

You might want to skip the ginger if you find it too intense or the turmeric if you find it too bitter. At the end of the day, this recipe is a lovely dish, satisfying and nourishing. It allows you to pour a lot of love into cooking.

 

Red Lentil Soup

Serves 4

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon finely minced garlic (about 3 garlic cloves)

1 cup finely chopped onion (about 1 onion)

½ cup finely chopped celery

½ cup finely chopped carrots

Kosher salt and fresh black pepper

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped

4 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

 

For the garnish:

paprika oil

Sour cream

 

• In a large soup pot, warm the olive oil over low heat and add the garlic. Cook, stirring constantly until it’s just golden brown, about 2 minutes.
• Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Season lightly with salt, pepper, turmeric, paprika, cumin, and nutmeg, and continue cooking.
• Add the tomatoes, stock, and lentils; bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the soup and simmer for 20 minutes, checking seasoning and liquid level. If you need more liquid add water or more chicken stock.
• Sprinkle fresh parsley and serve hot with a drizzle of paprika oil and sour cream.

Note: To make paprika oil, place 1 teaspoon of ground paprika in a small dry pan and cook over low heat for 3 minutes until it starts to develop the fragrance. Add 2 tablespoons olive and continue cooking over low heat for another 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let it cook completely.

 

 

 

I’m so happy that you visited today. Thanks for reading and browsing my site.

If you like this recipe, you might also like this recipe for Chicken Brodo and Broccoli Cheddar Soup.

Make sure to share this story with someone who cares about this topic.

I’d love to know what you think about this article. Please send an e-mail.

You can buy my cookbooks on Amazon: Latin Superfoods is my latest cookbook, I’m also the author of The Brazilian Kitchen and My Rio de Janeiro: A Cookbook.

Visit my YouTube Chanel @LeticiaMoreinosSchwartz

The easiest and most impactful thing you can to support is subscribe to my newsletter and to my channel on YouTube. And of course, tell your friends about it.

I’d love to connect with you on social media

Instagram @LeticiaMoreinosSchwartz,

Twitter @ ChefLeticia

Facebook @ChefLeticiaHealthyCooking

Linked In @Leticia Moreinos Schwartz

See you next time,

Leticia