Red Lentil and Vegetable Soup
I found this recipe in the “Good Housekeeping” magazine. This recipe was featured under Heart Smart Dinners and Healthy in a Hurry category. With 16gms protein, 13gms fiber, 0mg cholesterol and just 1gm saturated fat per serving, it’s definitely heart healthy. Added bonus, very tasty and easy to prepare too.
I reduced the quantity of ingredients. Even then it was a lot of soup for the 2 of us. I have another serving left for tomorrow. Check the original recipe for actual quantities and detailed nutritional information.
Ingredients:
Olive oil - 1 tablespoon
Carrots, medium, chopped - 3
Onion, small, chopped - 1
Ground Cumin - 1 teaspoon
Canned diced tomatoes (14.5 oz) - 1 can (I didn’t have this, so used crushed tomatoes)
Vegetable broth (14.5 oz) - 1 can
Dried red lentils (masoor daal) - 3/4th of a cup
Baby Spinach (5 oz bag) - 1 (I used frozen spinach)
Salt - as per taste
Ground black pepper - as per taste
Grated ginger (this was not mentioned in the original recipe, but I chose to use it because red lentils especially has the reputation to cause gas)
Procedure:
1. In a saucepan heat oil and add carrots, onion and cook until lightly browned and tender. Stir in cumin; cook 1 minute.
2. Add tomatoes, broth, lentils, 2 cups of water salt, ground black pepper cover and cook until lentils are tender. Stir in spinach.
My Notes:
1. I soaked the lentils before starting to chop the vegetables. I did this because I thought that this will reduce the cooking time and it did. Later only I came to know that soaking the lentils and throwing away the water and then using the lentils aids in easy digestion. Just be sure to throw away the soaking water. Enjoy!
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May 15th, 2008 at 5:14 am
Looks good! Another one to add to my list
.
May 15th, 2008 at 7:06 am
looks very comforting too.
May 15th, 2008 at 7:26 am
The soup looks hearty and comforting Madhuram! Its booked for the next rainy day we have
May 15th, 2008 at 7:41 am
the soup looks picture perfect Madhu.. yummy and comforting..
Could you please pass on the bowl to me.. 
Siri
May 15th, 2008 at 7:46 am
nice soup recipe…looks yummy
May 15th, 2008 at 8:18 am
wow!!this is a very healthy soup..all in 1!!!perfect to have when one needs a light dinner.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Looks really nice and inviting! Boy! you are innovative
May 15th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Great soup! My nutritionist frnd informed me that throwing away the soaked water removes the gas causing stuff so I do that too. I liked that onions there in the second snap - handsome one - isn’t he?
May 15th, 2008 at 9:11 am
This is one of my fav soups too Madhu! I generally make it for light dinners..such a nice way to get all veggies and beans in together, right! looks great:)
May 15th, 2008 at 9:24 am
I might use the pressure cooker to cook the dal and then add it to the vegetables.
Abt dal water - why not add spices like asafoetida (hing) and cumin ( you have this in the ingredients) to aid digestion ??
I think that throwing away the water would mean losing some proteins. Correct me if I am wrong.
May 15th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Wow could u keep another serving 4 tomorrow
U could have pass it to me. Looks really healthy and filling 
May 15th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Wow, what a healthy soup! Looks so delicious too.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Healthy and nutritious soup Madhu.Like it very much
May 15th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Spillay, thank you. Give it a try and you will love it.
Sia, yes it was a comforting and satisfying dinner.
Priya, welcome to my blog. You need not wait for a rainy day to enjoy this healthy soup.
Siri, I would love to pass it to you dear!
Sowmya, thank you very much.
Ranji, yes it was a very good dinner last night. We dunk whole grain toasts in the hot soup and it was phenomenal.
Laksh, thanks. It was not my recipe though, I got it from a magazine.
Sunshinemom, I didn’t know about this soaking method earlier. I used to add ginger in all my lentil dishes. But yesterday only I found it in the net. I arranged the ingredients and my husband took the photo.
Mansi, sure it’s so easy to put together and yet delicious as well as healthy.
Anjali, you might want to be careful while pressure cooking red lentils because it will become mushy very easily. In general red lentils cook faster than green and brown lentils. So I usually pressure cook green lentils for just 1 whistle. Red lentils can be cooked directly on the stove top itself, to get a nice crunchy texture. Actually I don’t cook red lentils a lot because it has the reputation of causing more gas than the other lentils. That’s why I added grated ginger even when it was not mentioned in the original recipe. But yesterday while I was searching the net regarding this, I found the tip about soaking the lentils in water and throwing away the water. That’s new to me too.
Cham, would love to pass it to you. When are you going to visit me?
Uma, Kamala thank you very much girls.
May 15th, 2008 at 11:29 am
wooooooow..soup looks delicious & very colorful & healthy too
May 15th, 2008 at 11:40 am
I got the old site of your’s first! New one looks great.
Grat looking soup, chockful of protein and tasty too!:)
May 15th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Soup looks delicious, like it :))
May 15th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Healthy soup … pic looks nice
May 15th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Hi Madhuram..
This is a healthy soup. Sound so good. I used to make a soup green lentils. Love ur version. Looks great. So colourful.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Madhu the soup looks great..We have decided to have soup atleast once a week for dinner..So this is in my list..healthy one
May 15th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Red lentils are the most used lentils in our household:-)…your bowl of soup looks lovely
May 15th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
What a deliciously hearty soup.
I like the new blog design - clean and elegant.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:28 am
Noted down…can’t wait to make it…I just love lentils.. Yum
May 16th, 2008 at 8:48 am
I have recently started to use masoor dal, and I just love the fact that it gets cooked so fast!
I should try this delicious soup sometime!
May 17th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Thank you Trupti, Asha, Madhavi, Vanamala, Cynthia, Sukanya, Divya, Sunita, Rupa and Kumudha. The soups tastes as good as it looks. Try it definitely.
May 17th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
[...] Madhuram’s Eggless Cooking has a lovely red lentil and vegetable soup. [...]
May 17th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Oh what a hearty soup! My style exactly.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Love the soup recipe and great pictures Madhu!!
May 19th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Mine too Vegeyum.
Thanks Dee. My husband took the pictures.