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V Red Lentil Soup
From farm member Asmi Maharishi. Hulled lentils are orange or red in color, and cook much faster than the unhulled brown ones. This recipe comes together in just about 30 minutes, and most of the cooking is unsupervised. Pair with basmati rice or brown rice for a traditional Indian meal. Or, serve as a hearty soup with crusty bread! Seves 4; ready in about an hour.
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
¾ cup orange lentils, picked over for stones and rinsed
1 Serrano pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon turmeric (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
4 tomatoes, chopped (about 2 cups)
8 Swiss chard leaves (use less if the leaves are large), rough chopped
2 ½ cups water
Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Add Serrano peppers and swish around a few times, about 30 seconds. Add onions and cook on medium low heat until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, and next 4 ingredients (through turmeric) and cook another minute.
Add tomatoes and Swiss chard, stir, cover and cook until the chard has wilted. Add lentils, salt and water. Mix well, and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to medium low, and cook another 15 minutes until lentils are cooked, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Tips
You can substitute spinach, or other leafy greens, for the chard.
Turmeric is an aromatic spice that gives Indian food its bright yellow color.
Garam masala is a blended Indian spice commonly available at most grocery stores. Omit if you don’t like spicy food. You can increase or cut down on the Serrano peppers, cumin, and coriander too, based on your preference.