Indianized Vegetable Soup with Lentils

Another hearty soup I love and eat like a whole meal is lentil soup. This is also a wintry soup which is full of good stuff, like protein and nutritious veggies.
With the winter slowly coming upon us, its always good to have such soups for a light dinner at nights. this soup also freezes well, so you can make a big batch of it and freeze it for a quick meal during weekdays.
Have it with a piece of warm baguette or french bread, for a full meal.
I like it spicy so, added few red pepper flakes and also added in some coriander powder and cumin powder for the Indianized feel. you can surely skip all that and make it the way you like it!
For the 5th day of the blogging marathon....

Makes 4 servings

Note: These are not the whole Masoor dal lentils, tho they look like them. These are the green lentils or french lentil found in your regular grocery store.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped tiny
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp grated ginger
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery, chopped
1/2 cup chopped cabbage
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes, or canned diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth (can be substituted with water)
1 cup water
1 cup lentil, washed
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped corianderr leaves


Method:

Heat oil in a big pot.
Add the onion, garlic, ginger, carrot, celery and cook for 2-3 minutes until the onion is tender.
Add the cabbage and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, cumin, coriander and red pepper flakes along with red pepper flakes.
Add Salt and pepper to taste.
Pour in the broth and water, bring it to a boil.
Add in the washed lentils and then simmer for 25 minutes to 30 minutes.
When the lentils are cooked, puree a cup of it in a food processor or with a hand blender.
Keep cooking for another 15 minutes. If needed add some more water or broth.
Add lemon juice to taste.
Garnish with chopper coriander leaves before serving.
Serve warm and enjoy!!!

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Sending this to Srivalli's Soups and Salad's mela.