Red Lentil Coconut soup

Had a big pot of this bubbling on the stove last night:

Mmmmm, it was good!

If you want to make your own, here’s all the stuff you’ll need:

I mostly went by this recipe. The one big thing I’d add would be 1/3 cup golden raisins at the same time as the onions. I saw that in the original version of the recipe, which was very similar to this one but was a little too complicated for me. We weren’t sure we’d like the taste with the raisins, so we sprinkled them on top instead, but all agreed they were keepers.

Red Lentil Coconut Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1-1/2 Tablespoons olive oil (I started with 1 and then had to add a splash more because my pot was so big)
• 1 to 2 Tablespoons curry powder, depending on how much you love curry (I used 1T)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 onion, chopped (I used about 3/4 of the onion because it was big and I was worried the girls would protest – turned out they liked the onions because they absorbed the sweetness)
• 1/3 cup of golden raisins
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 7 cups water (this is a lot, use a BIG pot)
• 1 (15oz) can coconut milk
• 2 cups split red lentils (uncooked and unsoaked)
• 1 (15oz) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice
• Optional: fresh cilantro and lime wedges for serving

Directions:

1. To a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat, add the oil. Add the curry powder and cinnamon and cook, stirring often, until the spices are fragrant, about 2 minutes. (This soup makes A LOT, so use a big pot. I used my grandma’s dutch oven.)
2. Add the onion and raisins and cook about 3 minutes, followed by the carrots, ginger, garlic, salt, sugar, and tomato paste. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes more. (I find it easiest to chop and measure out everything in advance. So I had the onions in one bowl and the carrots, ginger, etc. in another – see the pic above.)
3. Pour in the water, coconut milk, lentils, and chickpeas. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender and the soup has thickened.
4. At the very end, stir in the lime juice. Serve with fresh cilantro and lime wedges if desired.

Tasty! Serve with yummy crusty bread or naan. This was great leftover the next day for lunch and I also froze a container of it for later.