Red Lentil Soup
This is another one of those soups that we eat masses of
in winter.
It's prepared and cooked in less than half
an hour. We often have a bowl of soup for breakfast in our
house.
This recipe is very healthy and far more
nutritious than the sugary cereals that some folk eat for
their brekkie (Aussie expression meaning breakfast).
The links immediately below are
not my recipes but you may find them interesting
anyway.
To convert any of these ingredients into US measurements please
use this
Quantity Conversion
Chart.
Ingredients:
Cooking oil spray
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 rounded teaspoons garam masala
1 rounded teaspoon ground turmeric
2 cups red lentils
1 x 400 ml tin tomato puree (approximately 1 and 1/2 cups)
6 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Spray bottom of saucepan with cooking oil. Add onion and
garlic to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
Add garam masala and turmeric and cook for 30 seconds or
so.
Add lentils, tomato puree and stock. Simmer for 25
minutes. Just prior to serving add the parsley, salt
and pepper, if needed.
Serves 5 - 6.
Notes:
If you don't have any vegetable stock on hand you can use
water and stock powder instead. Because this recipe
has lentils in it you will need to be vigilant about
stirring it or the lentils may stick to the bottom of the
pan.
Food Facts:
Lentils are one of our oldest foods. They originated in
Asia and North Africa and are still grown there as well as in France
and Italy. they are rich in B Vitamins which boost our immune
systems. Lentils can help boost energy, they are rich in fibre and
are full of anti-carcinogenic phyto chemicals. Their colours
range from yellow to red-orange to green, brown or even black.
Canada is the largest export producer of lentils in the world.
Onions are high in energy and have good amounts of B6, B1, and
Folic acid in them. They contain chemicals which fight free
radicals in our bodies. Free radicals cause disease and
destruction in our cells. Onions have anti-viral, anti-fungal
and anti-bacterial properties in them. These properties are
most potent when the onion is eaten raw. Onions raise the
levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol and they lower the levels of the
bad LDL cholesterol.
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