Indian-Spiced Chickpea and Lentil Soup

Chilly March days deserve soup for lunch. I was cleaning out the deep-freeze late one morning last week (I had bought some clear plastic bins and was striving for some springtime reorganization!) and found rather small amounts of cooked chickepeas and red lentils in small plastic freezer bags.Not wanting to put these back in the freezer, where they would get shoved behind larger bags and disappear for another year, I decided to make soup for lunch. I saw a package of Trader Joe’s Tandoori Naan in the freezer as well and, since Indian food is one of my favorites, I decided to make a chickpea and lentil soup with Indian flavors.

This soup would also be good with cooked basmati rice stirred in if no naan was to be had to serve it with. It was quite good, a tomato soup spiced with cumin and coriander, with a nice tang of flavor from the lemon juice and the creamy yogurt. It can be made in less than a half hour, and is quite filling with the hefty amount of fiber which it contains.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Indian-spiced Chickpea and Lentil Soup

Recipe By: Vicci

Servings: 4

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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1/2 cup lentils -- red lentils preferred

1 teaspoon canola oil

3/4 teaspoon brown mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon minced ginger

3/4 teaspoon minced garlic

14 ounces canned diced tomato -- undrained

14 ounces low-sodium vegetable stock

1 1/4 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper -- (to taste)

9 ounces cooked chickpeas -- (about one 15-ounce can, drained)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt

Combine lentils with 2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until lentils have softened and started to break apart. Remove from heat but do not drain.

After the lentils have started to cook, heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a saucepan. Add the mustard seeds, shake the pan to coat the seeds with oil, and cook over medium heat until the seeds begin to pop (about 30 seconds). Turn off the heat and stir in the garlic and ginger. Add the canned tomatoes (this will spatter a little, so be careful) then pour in the vegetable broth. Add the spices (coriander through red pepper) and chickpeas, turn on the heat to medium, stir well, and bring to a boil Cover partially, turn down the heat, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the lentils are done, add them (and their cooking water) to the tomato mixture. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and divide between soup bowls. Garnish with dollops of yogurt.

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Per serving: 241 Calories (kcal); 4g Total Fat (trace Saturated); (13% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 39g Carbohydrate; trace Cholesterol; 321mg Sodium; 11g Fiber

Food Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Since this was made on the fly, during a "cleaning day", I did not take the time to snap a photo and now I wish I had. Once we started eating, and I realized just how good this soup was, I just knew that I needed to post it. :)