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Tomato-Lentil Soup

I make this a lot when tomatoes are in season. It makes for a simple, nutritious lunch or first course.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4

Ingredients

1 3/4 pounds tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup red lentils
2 cups chicken stock or water
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 medium onion, chopped
One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
A handful of cilantro
10–15 fresh curry leaves, if available, or 6 fresh basil leaves, torn up
1 teaspoon salt

Preparation

  1. Put all the ingredients except the salt into a pan and bring to a simmer. Cover partially, leaving the lid slightly ajar, turn the heat to low, and simmer very gently for an hour. Add the salt and mix in. Strain the soup through a coarse strainer, pushing down with the back of a wooden spoon. Reheat before serving, stirring as you go.

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Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the full book from Amazon.
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