Oriental Lentil Soup
1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
1 lemon (juice and keep a quarter of the lemon)
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon mustard powder (or 2 teaspoons fresh, mild mustard)
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup red lentils (dried or can)
salt and pepper to taste
Heat Oil in a pan, add onions and fry for a short time only. Add spices and stir onions for about 1 minute. Add veggie stock, the quarter of the lemon and lentils. Let simmer on a low heat for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are soft.
Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, take out the lemon piece and sprinkle soup with fresh coriander.
I've done this soup lots of time, and it's light for summer and - especially, if you add potatoes - great for winter, too.
Enjoy!!
SO HOW'D IT GO?
It's not really clear from the recipe whether "1 cup red lentils (dried or can)" means 1 cup dry, or 1 cup canned (the dry amount would be less, maybe 1/2 cup). I used 1 cup dry, and added more and more water as I went (more than double the stated amount). In the end it came out like dal rather than soup. The combo of cilantro + lemon was good, but I wish the instructions were clearer in case I made this more dilute than it was supposed to be.