Love for Food

Coconut Curry Lentil Soup

I've seen this recipe pop up before and always wanted to give it a try. I decided on this version from All Recipes.com . There are tons of versions out there but this one was the version closest to my traditional lentil soup recipe standby.Last year I started making a lot of lentil soup. I'm talking about weekly.I had worked with green lentils before but one day while walking around Kalustyan's my eye caught Pink Turkish Lentils. I use to work down by Wall Street and there was a wonderful Turkish cafe called the Country Kitchen. One of my favorite things to get year round, was the soups. The soups at the Country Kitchen always tasted home made. I felt like I was eating healthy but it was delicious at the same time. The Country Kitchen made two soups daily, red lentil and chicken noodle. The lentil was incredible.
I stopped working downtown about three years ago. The past few years I bought some cans of lentil soup. I thought Progresso lentil soup was so disgusting, I didn't even eat it. I donated the cans I bought to a food kitchen. I don't know why but nothing was like that soup from Country Kitchen. Fast forward back to my trip to Kalustyan's. When I saw the name Pink Turkish Lentils, I thought of that soup. I bought them and gave it another go. I used this recipe from the 101 Cookbooks blog and loved it.
Last year was the year of the lentil soup for me for many reasons. It was terribly cold and windy, money was tight, and I was super busy with school work. The other lentil recipe is a tad cheaper without the coconut milk and I can get four servings for about $2.00 or .50 per serving. My stomach loved lentils and digested them very well. I never got that blah bloated feeling the next day after eating some of the soup. It was good but I got bored and searched around for a new way to freshen up the soup. So I decided to give this a try.

I was happy with the results. I did have to tinker around a bit until the soup was just right for my tastes. It also helps that I love curry. My sister still jokes around with me about a time that she came to visit and I made pasta with meat sauce. I thought it was bland so I added some curry. She thought it was gross and an odd choice. At that time, I loved curry and thought everything tasted better that way. I have since than learned more about spices but my love for curry is still the same. The coconut milk adds a nice creaminess and smoothness to the texture.
Ingredients: Serves Four
1 1/2 cups red lentils2 1/2 cups water1/2 red onion, finely chopped1 clove garlic, finely chopped1/2 inch piece fresh ginger root, finely chopped1 15oz can of light coconut milk11/2 tablespoon curry powder1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon1 teaspoon ground black pepper1 teaspoon salt

Method:

  • Cook onions until translucent (use cooking spray or 2 tablespoons olive oil) and than add garlic and ginger saute for about a minute.
  • Add lentils, water, coconut milk, curry powder, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper to the pot. Reduce heat to med low and let simmer for about 30 minutes.
Cost: $3.00 total, $.75 per servingTime: 15 minutes active, 30 minutes inactive

Nutrition Facts: Amount Per Serving
Calories 150.9Total Fat 2.6 g
Saturated Fat 1.5 gPolyunsaturated Fat 0.2 gMonounsaturated Fat 0.7 gCholesterol 9.1 mgSodium 49.0 mgPotassium 305.4 mgTotal Carbohydrate 22.0 gDietary Fiber 6.2 gSugars 5.3 gProtein 10.7 g
Weight Watcher Points: 2 per serving