Tag: food

Hungarian Lentil Soup with an Indian Flair

If you are like me and enjoy eating with the seasons, you might find it difficult to find dishes to make now. There are no local produce growing here, in fact we just got 5 inches of snow today. I would like to post my favorite recipe that I often turn to when I am out of ideas. This dish is my lentil soup.

This delicious lentil soup is super easy to make and is very filling. You most likely have all the ingredients in your kitchen. I just make a Hungarian soup base with root vegetables like carrots, celery and onions. I also add cabbage or green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, chard and of course the lentils.

I use curry and paprika powders to spice the soup. When I was shopping at an Indian grocery store, the Indian shopkeeper told me that he often added Hungarian paprika to curry. Hmm interesting, so when I went home I gave it a try. I added curry powder along with paprika to this soup and the results were phenomenal. The Indian man gave me a great tip! I really like how the curry and the paprika work together in this soup.

That is it! It takes less than an hour to cook and it will never disappoint you. Try it and please let me know in the comment section what you think!

RECIPE

INGREDIENT
  • 4 cup Stock (chicken or vegetarian)
  • 1 cup dried French or brown lentils or 1 can of lentil (14 oz)
  • 1 medium sized onion, finally chopped
  • shortening (sunflower oil, lard)
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 large tomato or 1 can (14 oz)
  • 3 medium sized carrots, chopped and peeled
  • 1 cup green vegetables (cabbage, spinach, kale), chopped
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp of sweet Hungarian paprika (make sure it is authentic)
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
  • Preparing the lentils. Clean and soak the lentils for a 8 hours. (You can skip the soaking if you don’t have time). Discard the liquid. Add 3 cups of fresh water and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Cook covered on low heat for 1 hour. Turn burner off. Let the lentils soak up the let over cooking water for 15 minutes with the lid on. Set aside. (Omit this step if you are using canned lentils).
  • Meanwhile prepare the soup base. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes until translucent. Stir. Add chopped celery, continue sauteing for 5 more minutes. Keep stirring.
  • Add the curry, paprika and crushed garlic for 1 minute. Stir. (Make sure there is enough oil). Add the tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes until the tomatoes break up. Stir.
  • Add the carrots, cabbage or spinach and the stock.
  • Bring to a boil. Turn down to low heat and continue cooking for 45 minutes
  • Add the cooked lentils along with its cooking liquid and salt to taste. Stir.
  • Serve hot with bread or biscuits.

Enjoy!

Recipe, photo and text by twincitiesherbs.com

Fusion style curry pumpkin soup

After the rich foods of the holidays, we often just want to eat something simple yet nourishing. It can get a bit tricky in January to do this as it is still cold here. To stay in tune with nature, I really enjoy eating some warming soups. This tasty soup is more of a fusion style pumpkin soup. Its main ingredient, the butternut squash is cooked in a coconut milk base with some warming spices from the East. This soup should feel refreshing after all the rich, heavy foods of the holidays. Oh and those warm aromas in your kitchen while the soup is cooking … enjoy!

RECIPE

Ingredients

  • 1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled and cubed
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 Tbsp graded fresh ginger
  • 1-3 garlic cloves
  • 2 cans of coconut milk
  • 1 cup vegetable stock or water
  • 3 Tbs-whole bottle (to taste) of Thai Kitchen Roasted red chili paste, 4 oz
  • Nuts (pumpkin, almonds), slivered
  • Salt

Preparation

  • In a medium sized pot, heat coconut oil on medium high heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until it is translucent.
  • Add ginger and cook for a few minutes until you smell its aroma. Add the powdered curry and garlic cloves and stir for 1 minute.
  • Pour in the coconut milk, vegetarian stock/water and the Thai Kitchen red chili paste. Stir and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to a low medium heat and cover.
  • Cook for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let the soup cool.
  • Add salt.
  • Use an immersion blender and puree until smooth.
  • Reheat before serving.
  • Serve with nuts, yogurt, bread.

Photo and text by twincitiesherbs.com.