A creamy and mild curry lentil soup.
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 0.25 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic minced (more if you want!)
- 1.5 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1.5 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- 0.25 teaspoon chili powder or to taste
- 32 ounces chicken broth
- 1 cup lentils
- 1 large carrot diced
- 3 tablespoons coriander chopped, fresh (cilantro)
- Carbohydrate 41.77958828125 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 11.9840971875 g
- Fiber 19.7048703348637 g
- Protein 18.04810046875 g
- Saturated Fat 0.8971826875 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (344g)
- Sodium 960.1314375 mg
- Sugar 22.0747179463863 g
- Trans Fat 0.710723562500001 g
- Calories 342 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until the onion has turned golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in cumin, coriander, curry, kosher salt, black pepper, and chili powder. Cook and stir 2 minutes more until the spices are fragrant.
- Slowly add chicken broth, lentils, and carrot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils are soft - about 40 minutes.
- Use a stick blender and partially puree the soup in the pan for a more creamy texture.
- Garnish with fresh chopped coriander.
- Serve with homemade roti and tandoori chicken.
Swapping water or vegetable stock for the chicken broth fundamentally alters the depth of the finished broth by removing the gelatin and savory proteins that naturally give body to simmering legumes. Building flavor starts in the pot by heating three tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat, where onions and minced garlic must reach a distinct golden brown hue over roughly five minutes before any ground spices touch the pan. Introducing ground cumin, coriander, curry powder, and chili powder directly into the hot oil and cooked aromatics for two minutes allows fat-soluble flavor compounds to release their maximum aromatic potential through frying, though constant stirring remains mandatory to prevent the botanical powders from scorching on the bottom of the pot. Determining when the lentils finish cooking requires abandoning timers in favor of physical inspection; once the forty-minute simmer concludes, extract a spoonful and press a single lentil against the side of the pot with a fork to ensure it yields entirely without a firm, chalky center. Achieving the characteristic creaminess without adding dairy relies on an immersion blender applied directly into the pot, where pulsing the spinning blade a mere three or four times breaks down roughly half of the softened legumes while leaving the remaining structural integrity intact. Cooks lacking an immersion blender can safely transfer half the hot soup to a standard countertop blender, venting the lid with a towel to allow steam to escape before pureeing and returning it to the main vessel.
