Red Lentil Carrot Soup

Wholesome, comforting, creamy soup packed with goodness of red lentils, carrots and ginger. It is a vegan, gluten free, one pot recipe that takes less than 30 minutes to get ready.

As this red lentil carrot soup is seasoned with warming spices like turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, it is perfect for winter season especially when you are feeling under the weather. It can even double up as dinner on busy weekdays with some sourdough or crusty bread.

To make this delicious, cosy, filling soup all you require is handful of simple pantry ingredients and few minutes of your time. In this post I have made it on a stovetop but you can make it in pressure cooker or instant pot also.

The spiced carrot lentil soup recipe shared here is:

• Vegan
• Vegetarian
• Gluten free
• Easy and quick to make
• Healthy & Protein packed

Ingredients you’ll need:

Red Lentils: Also known as orange lentils, pink lentils or masoor dal, its is basically peeled and split brown lentils. It is known to be nutrient dense, high in protein and has a mild, nutty taste of its own.

This lentil cooks really fast in comparison to other lentils and hence suitable to be used in variety of recipes like salads, soup, stews, curry, pilaf or fritters. Always wash them first to get rid of any residual dirt and try to soak them as it helps in reduce the cooking time and makes them easily digestible.

Carrots: Use fresh, firm and crunchy carrots that are orangish or reddish in colour for maximum taste and colour in soup. Avoid using carrots that are stale as they become limp, making them difficult to peel or chop. You can use frozen carrots also but thaw them before using.

Carrots are known to be good source of fibre, beta carotene, potassium, vitamins especially vitamin A and great for skin & eye health. Apart from soup, they can easily be used in salads, curries or even air fried for delicious wholesome side dish.

Onion, Ginger & Garlic: All these three veggies adds flavour and aroma to the soup. It is best to use freshly grated and minced garlic in soup but if you are short of time, ginger garlic paste or garlic powder can also be used.

Tomato Puree: As carrots have mild sweet flavour, little bit of tomato helps in balancing that sweet flavour with its sour and acidic flavour. You can use tomato paste, puree or 1-2 blended fresh tomatoes.

Spices: The soup is spiced with spices like turmeric, paprika, freshly ground black pepper, cinnamon and cumin powder.  I love adding some red chilli flakes to it for a spicy kick but if are making it for kids or prefer less spicy food, feel free to skip it. Other spices that you can add- bay leaf, clove, cayenne pepper or coriander powder.

Oil: The soup can be cooked in any cooking oil of choice like olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, canola oil, butter or half oil and half butter.

Coconut Milk: It gives the soup wonderful creamy texture and sweet fragrance to the soup. As I wanted to keep this soup vegan, I have used coconut milk but you can use low fat cream also or skip it altogether. Instead of coconut milk, some chilli oil can also be drizzled on top before serving.

Variations:

1. Instead of red lentils, you can make this soup with yellow moong dal (split small yellow lentil) or a with mix of red and yellow lentil.
2. To make it more veggie packed and nutritious, you can add chopped spinach, pumpkin, broccoli, sweet potato, roasted red peppers or cauliflower to it.

More vegan / vegetarian soup recipes to try:

• Broccoli Cheese Soup
• Roasted Tomato Soup
  
• Vegetable Noodle Soup
• Chickpea Lemon Orzo Soup

Ingredients:

• Split Red Lentils (Masoor Dal)- 1 cup
• Carrots (chopped)- 4 to 5 large (~450 gms or 17 oz.)
• Fresh Ginger (grated)- 1 inch piece
• Onion (chopped)- 1 large
• Garlic cloves (minced)- 2 to 3
• Olive Oil- 2 tbsp
• Tomato Puree- 3 tbsp
• Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
• Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
• Cinnamon Powder- 1/4 tsp
• Black pepper (crushed)- 1/4 tsp (to taste)
• Red pepper flakes- 1/4 tsp (optional)
• Paprika / Red Chilli Powder- 1/2 tsp
• Salt- 1/2 tsp (to taste)
• Water / Vegetable Broth- 5 cups
• Coconut Milk- 1/3 to 1/2 cup
• Fresh cilantro or parsley (chopped)- For garnishing

(Note: If the vegetable broth has salt, avoid adding salt or add after tasting. The above quantities yields 4-5 servings.)

Directions:

Step 1: Wash the lentils 2-3 times till the water turns clear. Let them soak in water for 10-15 minutes while you do the chopping and other cooking steps.

Step 2: Heat oil in a pan and add onion, garlic and ginger to it. Sauté till onions starts to soften up.

Step 3: Add chopped carrots to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes (If you want to add chopped pumpkin or sweet potatoes, add in this step).

Step 4: Add in tomato puree, spices and salt and sauté for 1-2 minutes more.

Step 5: Once the spices begin to release the aroma, add drained red lentils and vegetable stock (or water). Bring it to boil and then simmer for 12-15 minutes.

Step 6: After 12 minutes, check whether the lentil has cooked completely by pressing a grain between finger and thumb and if the carrots have become tender. If there is any resistance, cook for another 4-5 minutes.

Step 7: Let the mixture cool slightly and then blend using immersion blender or in a mixer blender jar. You can blend it fully for smooth consistency or leave it slightly chunky as per your liking.

Step 8:  Transfer the soup back to the pan and add coconut milk (check note below) to it. Simmer for 2-3 minutes more. Taste and adjust salt or spices as per your taste. Garnish with chopped cilantro, coconut milk or chilli flakes before serving.

Note: I have added 1/3 cup coconut milk here but you can add more as per your liking. It is even fine if you don’t want to add coconut milk. Instead you can add some lemon juice or 1/4 tsp garam masala and garnish with 1-2 tsp chilli oil before serving.

Tips:

1. Storage & Reheating: You can easily store any leftover soup in an airtight container in fridge fo 3-4 days. The soup may become thick with time as lentils have tendency to absorb moisture. Add a splash of water or vegetable stock to it before reheating.

2. The soup can be cooked in pressure cooker or instant pot also. All steps will be same except the part in which we cover the pan with lid and let the soup cook. Instead pressure cook the soup for 2 whistles and simmer for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally and then blend.

3. You can even use your leftover lentil curry or roasted carrots in this soup recipe.

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