I love soups! All kinds of soups actually, but two of my favorites are red & green lentil soups as well as yogurt soup.  During the first week of Ramadan, I was in the mood for some good warm lentil soup.  It is especially good to start a meal with a soup especially during Ramadan, it is very light on the stomach.

As many of you might know legumes are a big part of middle eastern cuisine, especially lentils and beans.  Lentils, can range in color from yellow to dark green and are very high in protein as well as high in fiber.

My lentil soup is very easy, basic and quick.

Red Lentil Soup
               6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion (diced small)
• 1 medium carrot (diced small)
• 1 cup of red lentil (washed & drained)
• 1/4 cup of white rice (washed & drained) ~ rice can be excluded if you prefer.
• 1.5 teaspoon of tomato paste
• 1 medium tomato (washed and diced small)
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 5-6 cups of cold water (might need more if soup is to thick)
• salt for seasoning
• lemon juice for flavor
• dry mint

Preparation:

1. In a deep cooking pot, heat up the olive oil add in the chopped onions and saute until soft 2 – 3 minutes.
2. Add in the carrots, chopped tomatoes & tomatoes and mix well and let them saute for another 2 – 3 minutes.
3. Next add in the red lentils and rice.  Add in your 5 cups of water and salt leave to bring up to boil.  About 30-35 minutes.  At the point the water might have been absorb add in another cup and bring up to boil another 8-10 minutes.
4. Once the rice and lentil are completely soft, remove from heat.  Cool for 5 minutes and serve hot.  If you like the way texture of the lentils leave as it is and server with lemon juice and sprinkled dry mint.
5. Or with an hand held electrical blender, pure the lentils until everything is liquefied.  Serve with lemon juice and sprinkled dry mint.  

Tags: Soups