"There ain't a body, be it mouse or man, that ain't made better by a little soup."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread)
My oldest memory of a soup is when i was three and mom used to serve me alphabet soup. I did not care much for the flavour but I was intrigued with the alphabets popping in and out of the soup. I guess that was my real education because I was quite lazy to learn alphabets at school. I keep looking out for alphabet soups these days but have not found them here in Bangalore, I hope to find them soon so that I can introduce them to my baby. I have been waiting to try this lentil soup ever since I saw this recipe in a book a couple of years ago. I always had all the required ingredients but was lazy to make soup. My mom-in-law had her tooth extracted yesterday and so I was forced to put her onto a liquid diet. So I have declared a soup week in the kitchen. I decided to start the week with this red lentil soup. And what better season to have soup than the winter month of December ? All the soups I am trying this week is gonna be a fusion of Indian and Western cuisines so that it appeals to mom's palate. So in this red lentil soup you will find lentils, carrots and onions sauted in butter with some fresh parsley and celery and a tinge of dried parsley and paprika. The key ingredients are Indian ( well I would not bother labeling them Indian coz everyone eats carrots and lentils) but the spices are all Western ( according to my mom- in- law). This soup suddenly made me realize I was making baby food, because it was mildly spiced and too mashed for my taste but it suited mom who was struggling to bite soft solids- which again makes me wonder if what you make for kids and the old are the same? Having said all those grandiose statements, I did have a bowl or two in the evening when I was hungry and it felt nice because I did not have a stomach burn unlike the way it is when I eat all the spicy normal stuff.
I am grateful to mom and our dentist who gave me this wonderful opportunity to nourish myself and my baby - for if not for their collaboration, I would not make soups :) I am trying to eat everything possible and healthy - things I would normally stay away from for the sake of my baby because some funny doc told me my eating habits can influence my kid. So I thought if I ate healthy maybe I would not need to coax my kid to eat soups and salads they way my mother did. I can only tell you the result in 5- 6 years. So till then, try this soup.
I am starting my Christmas baking shopping- you know gonna stock m pantry with nuts and fruit peels, because it's a busy season :) My hubby is planning to get a barbecue grill and if he succeeds, you will see a lot of recipes from the grill. And by the way the Rice wine matures tomorrow so you can expect a post on this wine very soon- too bad I am not drinking :(
Ingredients for Red Lentil Soup
Red lentils- 1 cup
Carrots- 3
Onion- 1
Butter- 1 tsp
Olive oil- 1 tsp
Fresh Parsley- 2 sprigs
Paprika- 1 tsp
Celery- 1 stalk
Garlic- 3 pods
Salt- to taste
Water- 2 cups
Dried parsley- a pinch
Heat the butter in a pot and add the olive oil. Once the oil and butter mix is hot add the garlic and onions and saute till they soften. Now add the lentils and carrots followed by salt, paprika and dried parsley. Slow cook the lentil and carrots for 15 minutes. You can pressure cook if you want to speed up the process but remember to add the water before you pressure cook. In the slow cooking process I add water after 15 minutes of cooking and let the soup simmer for 5 more minutes. I add the fresh parsley and celery as soon as I add the water so that they simmer together with the broth in the last five minutes.
Take the soup pf the flame and puree it once it's cool. Re- heat this soup add a dash of pepper and a spoonful of cream and serve it warm. I avoided adding pepper because mom did not want any spices and I skipped the cream because she has cholesterol. Ideally I would add two potatoes cubed in this soup, but that would make it more starchy something again I had to cut down for mom. But you could try it that way if you love potatoes.
He is grounded for a month and in the balcony these days for his regressive behaviour ( peeing on our bean bag)
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