Creamy Lentil Soup (Dal Shorva)
1 1/2 cups red lentils
4 cups water
2 vegan 'chicken' and 2 vegetable bouillon cubes (cubes that make 1 cup broth each)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 - 1 inch piece ginger root, peeled and grated, or about 3 teaspoons minced
2 tomatoes, chopped loosely
1 cup rice, soy or oat milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/4 cup vegan margarine (I use Olivani lite)
1 yellow onion, finely shredded
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro/coriander, optional
1) Pick over the lentils, removing any stones or misshapen or discolored lentils. Rinse thoroughly and place in a large pot.
2) Dissolve the bouillon cubes in 4 cups warm water, add to lentils. Add turmeric, ginger, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes until the lentils are soft.
3) Puree until smooth in the pot with a hand held blender stick, or remove from the heat and, working in batches, puree in a food processor, then return soup to pot. Stir in the rice/soy/oat milk and salt, and heat until piping hot. Simmer gently over low heat while you finish the recipe.
4) In a skillet over high heat, melt the margarine. Add the onions and cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes until the onions are brown.
5) To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls and sprinkle generously with black pepper. Divide the onion mixture among the bowls, sprinkle with cilantro/coriander, if desired, and serve at once.
Source of recipe: This soup is fantastic with cornbread http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=5730.0
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I needed to add an additional 3 cups of liquid to this to keep it from being thicker than gravy. Even then it is still a very thick soup. Other than that, the recipe is good. The onion garnish makes it delicious and next time I'll double it (the garnish, probably with less fat) so that each serving can have more.
This was excellant. I had a pan full of carmelized onions, and two cups of leftover soup mix beans from making bean burgers. I used half a can of diced of diced tomatoes. I don't know if it was the carmelized onions. But it was sweet. I omitted the cumin.