Coconut Red Lentil Soup

I've said it before, but I have to say it again: I love 101 Cookbooks. The only reason I made this soup was because I bought some red lentils in bulk (just a small amount) to use in some unknown recipe. So when I found this recipe, I thought I'd try it. Otherwise, this recipe would have gone unnoticed by me.

You already know the outcome: I was so pleasantly surprised at how yummy this soup is! I used regular raisins instead of golden, and brown rice instead of farro. Raisins in soup sounds weird, right? But not in this soup. Even though there is no sweetener in the soup, the soup is slightly sweet (maybe from the coconut milk?), enhanced by the raisins.

Coconut Red Lentil Soup
from 101 Cookbooks

1 cup / 7 oz yellow split peas
1 cup / 7 oz red split lentils (masoor dal)
7 cups water
1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 tablespoons fresh peeled and minced ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons butter or ghee
8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
1/3 cup / 1.5 oz golden raisins
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
one small handful cilantro, chopped

cooked brown rice or farro, for serving (optional)

Give the split peas and lentils a good rinse - until they no longer put 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 carrot and 1/4 of the ginger. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the split peas are soft.

In the meantime, in a small dry skillet or saucepan over low heat, toast the curry powder until it is quite fragrant. Be careful though, you don't want to burn the curry powder, just toast it. Set aside. Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, add half of the green onions, 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 so. The texture will thicken. Serve over farro or brown rice and garnish with the remaining green onions and cilantro.