Curried Red Lentil Soup

It's 10:30 p.m. on a Monday night, John's in the shower, and I should be cleaning the house.

And that, my friends, is the dullest possible sentence I could write to usher in the rebirth of buildabelly. Two years have passed, and a million + three recipes are wasting away to nothing in the attic.
The time of liberation has come!

Alright. That's all the pomp and circumstance I can muster at this hour. Onward!

I'll start with the most recent new recipe that I will make until I die. I made it a few nights ago, and it's so good that I had another bowl after I was stuffed to the gills. Gluttony is not something I am proud of nor is it something to which I should admit in this setting, but there you have it. I'm a sucker for Indian food. John loved it, the girls loved it, my sister loved it; what more proof do you need? Just make it already.

It may not be the most lovely picture, but it is a lentil soup, after all. There's only so much one can do.




-2 cups red lentils (I only had one cup of red left and substituted brown for the second cup)
-8 cups vegetable stock (I used water + veg. bouillon paste)
-1 and 1/2 tsp. turmeric
-4 skinny carrots, diced in small pieces
-*I can't remember, but I may have also dumped a package of last summer's frozen parsley into the water while the lentils cooked (@2 tbsp. frozen fresh parsley)

Place the lentils and stock in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the turmeric, carrots, and parsley, if using. Partially cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 45 minutes or until the lentils are soft and tender, stirring occasionally.
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-extra virgin olive oil
-1 large onion, chopped
-@ 1 and 1/2 tbsp. fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
-@ 1 and 1/2 tbsp. fresh garlic, finely chopped
-1 tsp. ground cumin
-2 tsp. ground coriander
-2 tsp. curry powder (I used red curry); if this is your first foray into making your own Indian food, start with less and add to taste.
- ground cayenne, to taste
-1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
-salt, to taste

For the seasoning, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the onion to the pan and cook until the onion is softened and begins to brown. Add the ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, and curry powder; cook and stir for one minute. Add to the lentils, along with the tomatoes and their juice. Simmer til heated through; add cayenne and salt, to taste, and add more water as needed to reach desired consistency.

*Recipe credit: I adapted this recipe from Lisa at foodandspice.blogspot.com, who herself adapted it from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey. Also, Lisa suggests blending a portion of this soup with an immersion blender before serving. We don't own that gadget, and it was delicious as is.

More to come later this week.
Prepare those bellies, people.