Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Tidbit Tuesday: Recipe - Pumpkin & Red Split Lentils Soup

Hey peeps

Last week on Twitter I mentioned I was cooking this dish, and my friend and fellow author Annie Nicholas asked for the recipe. I promised her I'd put it up asap, so here it is!

This is totally my invention as soup, but I do attest that it tastes very good!

Here goes:

Pumpkin & Red Split Lentils Soup
(Makes about 4-5 cups soup)

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped finely
250 g red split lentils, washed and soaked for an hour
1 pound pumpkin, cubed (or canned. I've never tried it with canned but it should work too)
Spices: 1 teaspoon each of
            Cumin powder
            Coriander powder
            Turmeric powder
            Paprika
            Ground black pepper
A dash of nutmeg (don't use too much coz this can get overwhelming. You want just a hint of flavour)
Tomato puree (or sauce) - 1 Tablespoon
3 cups water
Salt
Olive oil
Pasta shells (optional)

How to:

1. Heat oil in pan and brown onions.
2. Mix spice powders and make into a paste by adding a little water. Add this paste to the onions and fry for 1-2 minutes.
3. Drain lentils and add to pan. Stir.
4. Add pumpkin and water. Stir and bring to boil.
5. Lower heat, leave to simmer, covered partially, for 20-30 minutes (you want the lentils to have softened and lost their shape, and the pumpkin to have 'melted').
6. When soup is at the consistency you want, stir in the tomato puree. Add a little salt, and taste (add more if it needs!).
7. If you want to make this a full meal but still keep it light, throw in some pasta shells towards the end of cooking time.

There you are - a quick and easy soup! Bon appetit!

From Mauritius with love,

Zee

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