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–+ servings
Curried Lentil Soup 4048

Curried Lentil Soup

Author: Traffic Light Cook
This one-pot soup offers a lot of flavor and comfort on a wintry day (lunch) or evening (dinner). Make it once and eat it twice as it tastes even better the next day. 
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch, Soup
Cuisine Vegan, Vegan, Gluten-free,
Servings 6 (want to make for fewer or more people: change serving size to customize the recipe)
Calories 191 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tsp avocado oil (or any other)
  • 1 cup white onion (or any other type, finely chopped, about 1 medium)
  • 1 tsp garlic (minced, 1-2 cloves)
  • 1 cup carrot (grated, 2 small)
  • 1/2 cup celery (thinly sliced, 1 stem)
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or sub with 1/4 tsp ground black pepper)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
  • 1 cup red lentils
  • 13/4 cups crushed tomato (1 14-oz can, preferably low- or no-sodium added)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 cups homemade vegetable broth* (or any other low-sodium vegetable broth)
  • 2 tbsp dried apricots (finely chopped, about 4-5 apricots)
  • 4 tsp red wine vinegar** (can sub with white vinegar or lemon)
  • 2 tbsp fresh cilantro (or 1 tbsp fresh parsely, finely chopped, optional)

Instructions
 

  • Soak lentils for at least six hours (or overnight). Drain the soak water and rinse. 
  • Heat coconut oil in a heavy-bottom pot over medium-low heat. Add onions, garlic, and salt and cook for 2 minutes. Add grated carrots and thinly sliced celery. Cook for for 3-4 minutes in covered pot stirring a couple of times. Add ground cumin, curry powder, cayenne pepper, and ground cinnamon(if using). 
    Curried Lentil Soup Process1 2107
  • Add lentils and crushed tomatoes and stir to  mix well with veggies and spices. Add vegetable broth and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. You can also partially cover the pot to expedite the process. Once the soup has boiled, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer (partially covered) for about 30-40 minutes (stir once or twice while simmering). 
    Curried Lentil Soup Process2 2110
  • Uncover the pot and check if the lentils are soft but still able to hold shape (try mashing a couple of lentil flakes between your fingers, it should mash completely and easily). If the lentil is even slightly hard, cover the pot and cook for another 10 minutes. Once lentils have completely cooked, add red wine vinegar and finely chopped dried apricot. Cook uncovered on medium- heat for another 7-10 minutes. Top with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

Notes

*you can also use a combination of water and broth. I have tried with 3 cups broth+1cup water, and it tastes almost the same. 
*if you are using store-bought broth you can add a bay leaf to the soup for more intense flavor. 
*This soup inclines more toward stew consistency; if you like it to more more soupy, add one more cup of vegetable broth. 
**if using lemon instead of vinegar, add to the soup after turning off the heat. 
Dried Apricots: adding apricots can be a hit or miss. You can totally omit apricots, if this is something you or the family does not like. 
Curry powder substitute: although it does not exactly replace curry powder, it's pretty close.  you can use 1 tsp garam masala+1/4tsp ground turmeric+1/2tsp fresh minced ginger (or 1/4tsp dry ground ginger)+omit cumin powder. 
Make it low-sodium: if avoiding salt, reduce salt to 1/2 tsp and double the amount of cayenne pepper+ add 2 tsp red wine vinegar to the recipe. 
Make it low-fat: If avoiding fat, use ditch-the-oil cooking method instead of oil. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 191kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 10gFat: 1gSodium: 595mgPotassium: 862mgFiber: 13gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 4100IUVitamin C: 17.3mgCalcium: 90mgIron: 4.5mg
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