Lentil soup with turmeric
4 servings
80 minutes
Lentil puree soup with turmeric is a fragrant and nutritious dish of Mediterranean cuisine that combines the tenderness of legumes with the warm spicy notes of turmeric and asafoetida. The history of this soup traces back to ancient traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean, where lentils were considered a symbol of simplicity and abundance. The combination of vegetables and spices gives the soup a rich, slightly sweet flavor with a hint of ginger's spiciness. Its silky texture makes it an ideal choice for a cozy dinner, while serving it with crispy toasted bread and pumpkin seeds adds a special charm to the dish. The soup is rich in proteins and beneficial microelements, providing warmth and nourishment while remaining easy to digest.
1
Soak lentils overnight. For soups and stews, it's better to use red Persian lentils or yellow ones, as they cook better than others. Soaking lentils is necessary because all legumes contain phytic acid, which hinders the absorption of beneficial substances like calcium and complicates metabolism. Soaking alleviates this issue.
- Red lentils: 300 g
2
Cook the lentils for an hour.
- Red lentils: 300 g
3
While it boils: chop the onion, peel the tomato (just hold it under boiling water for 10 minutes), grate the carrot on a coarse grater and the ginger on a fine grater.
- Onion: 1 piece
- Tomatoes: 1 piece
- Carrot: 2 pieces
- Ginger: 50 g
4
Fry the vegetables, adding them to the pan with a 5-minute interval in this order: onion, carrot, ginger, tomato.
- Onion: 1 piece
- Carrot: 2 pieces
- Ginger: 50 g
- Tomatoes: 1 piece
5
Next, we add the spices. This can be done in two ways. The first, longer method: place butter, crushed garlic at the bottom of a clean pot, and after two minutes, add turmeric and asafoetida. Spices roasted in butter better release their aromas. To prevent them from burning, we pour cream into the butter. Then, add the lentils, from which we have previously drained the water. The second method: if you don't want to dirty another pot, you can drain the water from the lentils, add cream, and add all these spices directly to the lentils.
- Garlic: 3 cloves
- Turmeric: 2 teaspoons
- Asafoetida: 1 teaspoon
- Cream: 100 ml
- Red lentils: 300 g
6
We cook lentils with spices for another 20 minutes.
- Red lentils: 300 g
7
Add vegetables to the lentils. Cook for another 10 minutes.
- Onion: 1 piece
- Carrot: 2 pieces
- Tomatoes: 1 piece
8
We grind everything in the blender.
- Red lentils: 300 g
- Cream: 100 ml
9
Served with pumpkin seeds and toasted bread.
- Salt: to taste