From The Healthiest Meals on Earth, by Jeannette Bessinger and Dr. Jonny Bowden
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped fine
- 4-5 garlic cloves split into two portions, to taste, chopped fine
- 3 T fresh ginger, peeled and grated fine
- 1 C dried red lentils (may be orange, red or salmon color), any small stones removed, well rinsed and drained
- 3 C water or broth (vegetable or no-salt chicken)
- 1 t turmeric powder
- 2 t ghee (clarified butter) or olive oil
- 1 t cumin seeds (or ground)
- ½-1 t cayenne pepper, to taste
- ¾ C fresh cilantro, washed, stemmed and coarsely chopped
- 3 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
- salt to taste
Pour oil into heavy soup pot and heat over medium burner. Add onion and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add ginger and half the garlic and continue sautéing over medium heat until tender, 1-2 more minutes. Gently add water or broth, lentils and turmeric, stirring well to combine. Cook on high until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, about 15 minutes.
While lentils are cooking, heat the ghee in a small sauté pan over medium heat until melted. Add cumin and cayenne pepper and sauté, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes or until cumin seeds stop sizzling. Add remaining garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes until very fragrant. Remove from heat.
When lentils in soup mixture are tender, mix or whisk or the mixture well until it has a thick, creamy consistency. If you wish, you may use a soup wand to lightly purée. When soup is pureed, stir in ghee/spice mixture until thoroughly combined. Add chopped tomatoes and salt to taste, and simmer on low for another 5-10 minutes. Put dal in a bowl and pile cilantro in the middle to present. Stir it in gently just before serving.
Yield: about 5 cups
Notes: Can serve dal alone as a starter soup, or use it as an entree by serving over simple brown basmati rice.