Red Lentil Coconut Curry Soup

I love making soups all winter long. This is a recipe for Red Lentil Coconut Curry Soup I stumbled upon several years ago and I make it on a regular basis during the cold weather months. The combination of the curry, ginger, and coconut milk will make your home smell delicious as you prepare it too. The original recipe is posted on 101 Cookbooks. I made a few alterations to make it my own – another great thing about soups – easy to modify to your liking.

Ingredients

1 cup yellow split peas
1 cup red split lentils
7 cups water
3 medium carrots chopped ½ inch dice
1 medium parsnip chopped ½ inch dice
2 tbsp fresh ginger peeled and finely grated
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp butter or ghee
⅓ cup golden raisins
8 green onions (scallions) thinly sliced
⅓ cup tomato paste
sea salt to taste (about 2 tbsp)

Instructions

Rinse the split peas and lentils a until they no longer give off murky water.
Place them in an extra-large soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer and add the carrots, parsnips, and ¼ of the ginger.
Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the split peas are soft.
In the meantime, toast the curry - either in a dry sauce pan or carefully in the toaster over. It burns easily though so you only want to toast it for a few minutes until it becomes fragrant. Set aside.
Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, add half of the green onions and the remaining ginger, and raisins. Saute for two minutes stirring constantly, then add the tomato paste and saute for another minute or two more.
Add the toasted curry powder to the tomato paste mixture, mix well, and then add this to the simmering soup along with the coconut milk and salt.
Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or longer if you like your soup thicker (like a do). If you prefer it thinner you can add water a little bit at a time.

Notes

To serve, sprinkle with remaining green onions and serve with crusty bread or spoon over a ½ cup of cooked quinoa.