Curried lentil, tomato and coconut soup – Ottolenghi

21/03/20214passionfood

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves: Serve 4

New ottolenghi recipe from his cookbook “Simple” and new love at first bite. 

I love lentil soup, and this one is different, it has the consistency and all the flavors found in “dal”, which is one of the most popular dishes in India.

It’s delicious, creamy, mildly-spiced. And of course you can adjust the heat level with less or more chilli flakes, ginger and depending of  which curry you’ll use.

Vegan, healthy, hearty and very easy to make. Grate some ginger and garlic, finely chop an onion, open some cans and add the water or a stock if you want, cook for 25 minutes. And voilà, the dinner is ready.

Don’t  forget to serve the soup with lime wedges for a citrusy kick it balances all the flavours.

One more thing, this soup can be made 4 days in advance if kept in the fridge, and up to one month if frozen. So it’s perfect for batch cooking.

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Curried lentil, tomato and coconut soup - Ottolenghi

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 35 minutes
  • Total time: 50 minutes
  • Serves: Serve 4

Ingredients :

  • 2 Tbsp coconut oil , or sunflower oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped (160g)
  • 1 Tbsp medium curry powder
  • 1/4 tsp chilli flakes
  • 2 garlic cloves , crushed
  • 4 cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated (30 g) (or less)
  • 150 g red lentils , rinsed and drained
  • 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 25 g coriander stalks, roughly chopped, plus 5g picked leaves to garnish
  • 400 ml tin coconut milk
  • salt and black pepper
  • 1 lime, to serve

Method :

  • 1)

    Put the oil into a medium saucepan and place on a medium high heat. Add. The onion and fry for 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and caramelised.
    Add the the spices, the garlic and ginger, continue frying for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.

  • 2)

    Add the lentils, stir  through for a minute, then. Add the tomatoes, the coriander stalks, 600ml of water, 1 tsp of salt and good generous grind of pepper.

  • 3)

    Pour the coconut milk into a dowel and gently whisk until smooth and creamy. Set aside 4 tablespoons, you’ll need this when serving, and add all the remaining coconut milk to the soup. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer gently for 25 minutes, until the lentils are soft but still holding their shape.


    Add a little bit more water, about 100 or 150 ml if your soup needs thinning down. The soup has a rough texture but you can blitz it, before serving, if you like things smooth.

  • 4)

    Divide the soup between four bowls, drizzle over the reserved coconut milk, sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve.

     

    Enjoy !!

Nutrition

2 Comments

  • Natasha

    21/02/2023 at 22:51

    This is truly delicious. I used a combo of green Thai curry paste and a home-made curry powder (Femmes’ Revenge Caribbean Curry Mix on Food.com), and mashed whole canned tomatoes instead of using diced. Added some fish sauce as part of the salt content, only used 1/2 can (200ml) 18% fat coconut milk plus extra water. Used split red lentils. I didn’t have any cilantro – I’d use it if I had it but I don’t think the soup is missing this ingredient. My curry powder and paste are very flavourful and fresh, and I think that is the key to this or any other recipe. That old curry that’s been sitting around for more than 6 months is not going to do this dish any favours. I’ll make this again and again with different “curry” pastes&powders.

    1. 4passionfood

      23/02/2023 at 08:43

      Hi Natasha,
      So glad that you liked it, and of course fresh homemade curry is always the best and definitely will make a difference in this king of dishes.

      Thank you for your comment.

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