root vegetable red lentil soup with cilantro chutney

A weeknight dinner staple with sweet carrots and succulent turnips, this Indian-inspired red lentil soup gets its flavor from a hefty dose of the spice blend garam masala and is topped with cilantro chutney.

soup season

Red lentil soup is one of my weeknight dinner staple throughout fall and winter. In the winter love adding in root vegetables, especially the combination of sweet carrots and succulent turnips. But feel free to substitute with other root vegetables to use what you have on hand. Once the veggies are chopped and prepped, the soup comes together in only 30 minutes. This Indian-inspired red lentil soup gets its flavor from a hefty dose of the spice blend garam masala and is topped with cilantro chutney from Priya Krishna’s Indian-ish cookbook.

root vegetable red lentil soup ingredients

• Aromatics– onion, garlic, and ginger provide a flavorful base
• Garam masala– an Indian spice blend that varies from region to region, usually containing cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, fennel seed, cloves, mace, bay leaves, red chili powder, and black pepper. If you don’t have garam masala, substitute with 1 part cumin : ¼ part allspice (for this recipe even just cumin would work).
• Root vegetables- my favorite combination is carrots and purple-topped turnips. You can substitute with rutabagas, parsnips, sweet potatoes, sunchokes, or potatoes.
• Red lentils– a fast cooking lentil, see below sections for more on lentils
• Tomatoes
• Broth– vegetable broth to keep the soup vegan/vegetarian or chicken broth
• Lemon juice
• Cilantro chutney– a flavor-packed blend of cilantro, serrano pepper, lime, sugar, and salt. Optional but really great!

lentils benefit humans, other plants, and the environment

Lentils are a weeknight cooking staple- affordable, easy, and able to take on flavors from other ingredients. They are member of the legume family (Fabaceae) along with beans and peas. Lentils get their name from their lens-shaped seeds.

Like many other legumes, lentil plants fix nitrogen through a symbiotic relationship they have with bacteria that reside in the plant’s root. Nitrogen fixation pulls nitrogen from the atmosphere (which is unusable to plants) and converts it into a usable form that plants are able to use to produce proteins. This process is what makes legumes some of the best plant-sources of protein in our diets.

Legumes can also serve as a nitrogen source to other plants. Nitrogen is one of the most commonly applied fertilizers, and is not very efficiently absorbed by plants, leading to a large amount of environmentally destructive runoff and gas emissions. When legumes are used in crop rotation or as cover crops, the dead legume plant material gets incorporated into the soil. This releases all the nitrogen-containing proteins from the plant into the soil in a form that can be readily absorbed by other plants. Using legumes in these cropping systems dramatically cuts down on the amount of nitrogen fertilizer that needs to be applied and the environmental damage caused by these fertilizers.

common types of lentils

Split red lentils are a weeknight dinner star with their quick cooking time. And longer cooking whole lentils make meal prep a dream- make a big batch and use them in a variety of dishes throughout the week.

• Red lentils (split Masoor dal)– the red interior of split and de-husked brown lentils. These are quick cooking lentils (perfect for weeknights) and will disintegrate into soups and curries, acting as a natural thickener.
• Brown lentils (whole Masoor dal)– a whole lentils that takes longer to cook but will hold its shape. Great for salads and stews.
• Green lentils– used similar to brown lentils but with a stronger flavor; use as a cheaper substitute for more expensive and harder to find French Green lentils
• French Green lentils (Puy lentils)– harder to find but their peppery flavor and toothsome texture are worth the hunt. They hold their shape through cooking better than standard brown and green lentils, making them great for salads and dinner bowls.
• Black lentils (Beluga lentils)- like French Green lentils, these tiny black lentils are harder to find in stores, but are prized for their rich flavor and ability to hold their shape. Perfect for salads and as a base for dinner bowls

preparing lentils

Lentils don’t need to be soaked before cooking. But always rinse lentils well to remove any dirt/debris- rinse until the water runs clear. Cooking time depends of the processing and size of the lentils; cook whole lentils for 35-45 minutes. Beluga and French Green lentils, though whole, are both smaller than other whole lentils, and take 20-30 minutes to cook. Split lentils cook the fastest and are ready in 15-20 minutes.

Lentils have a mild earthy flavor on their own, but can take on a lot of flavor from aromatics and spices. The best time to add flavor to lentils is during the cooking process. So if cooking lentils on their own consider cooking them in broth instead of water and adding aromatics (onion, garlic), spices, and herbs to the cooking liquid.

Nutrition and health benefits

• Protein– like all legumes lentils are a great plant-source of protein; 26% of the calories in lentils are from protein
• Soluble and insoluble fiber- stabilize blood sugar and blood cholesterol, aids digestion
• Digestion-resistant starch– prebiotic that feeds beneficial gut bacteria
• Folate– one cup of cooked lentils contains 90% of daily recommended dose of folate! Folate is an especially important nutrient for pregnant women as our bodies need it to build new cells
• Additional vitamins and minerals– good source of iron, potassium, manganese, and magnesium

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root vegetable red lentil soup with cilantro chutney

Red lentil soup is a weeknight staple- affordable and easy. This Indian-inspired recipe gets its flavor from garam masala and cilantro chutney.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: 4

Author: Sammy

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion peeled and chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves peeled and minced
• 1 inch piece of ginger peeled and minced
• 2 tsp garam masala can substitute with 2 tsp ground cumin + ½ tsp ground allspice (or even just 2 tsp cumin)
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 medium carrots chopped into ½ inch pieces
• 2 medium turnips peeled and chopped into ½ inch pieces
• 1 c red lentils
• 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
• 4 c chicken or vegetable stock
• juice from ½ lemon double if not making cilantro chutney

cilantro chutney (from Priya Krishna's Indian-ish)

• 1 bunch cilantro stems and leaves roughly chopped (about 4 c)
• 1 small green indian chile, serrano, or jalapeno pepper roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp lime juice (from 1 whole lime)
• ¾ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp sugar

Instructions

• Rinse lentils very well until the water runs clear.
• Add oil to a large heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat. Add onions and saute 5 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and ginger and cook for another 2 minutes. Add garam masala and salt, stir and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add carrots and turnips to the pot and stir to coat with the spices. Add tomatoes, lentils, and broth. Stir to mix and increase heat to bring to a boil.
• Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer until lentils and vegetables are soft and tender, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, squeeze in lemon juice, adjust salt to taste, and serve topped with cilantro chutney.

cilantro chutney

• Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. If your blender is having trouble catching the mixture, add a tablespoon of water at a time to get the blender going. Taste and adjust salt and lime juice as desired.
• Can make ahead and keep refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to 2 days.

Notes

Not into cilantro? Skip the chutney and double the lemon juice. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired.

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