Curried Pumpkin & Red Lentil Soup
A comforting and healing bowl of soup with a beautiful cinnamon ghee to top it off!
Recipe by Clement Pedro
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- Soup
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 6 cm piece of fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp freshly grated turmeric or ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 800 g pumpkin or butternut, cut into wedges and lightly roasted
- 150 g red lentils, rinsed
- 1.2 litres vegetable stock or water
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Cinnamon-Curry Leaf Ghee
- 80 g ghee
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 Tbsp black mustard seeds
- 10–12 curry leaves
- 1 tsp smoked chilli flakes
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- To Serve
- Plain yoghurt
- Fresh coriander leaves
- Crispy onions
- Extra fragrant ghee
- Juice of ½ lemon
How To Make Curried Pumpkin & Lentil Soup
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.
- Add the onion and cook until soft and lightly caramelised.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant.
- Add the cumin, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric and cayenne pepper and cook for a minute to toast the spices.
- Stir through the tomato paste and cook for another minute.
- Add the roasted pumpkin, red lentils and vegetable stock or water.
- Bring to a simmer and cook until the lentils are completely soft and beginning to break down.
- Blend until completely smooth and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- For the ghee, melt the ghee in a small saucepan.
- Add the cinnamon sticks and black mustard seeds and cook until the seeds begin to pop.
- Add the curry leaves and smoked chilli flakes, followed by the sliced garlic.
- Cook until the garlic is lightly golden and fragrant, then finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Pour most of the fragrant ghee into the soup and stir through, reserving a little for serving.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and finish with plain yoghurt, fresh coriander, crispy onions and a drizzle of the cinnamon-curry leaf ghee.