Lenten Indian Lentil Soup with Sweet Potato

I know it's not Lent, but I've been meaning to get this recipe up here. It's great, healthy, and it's vegan.

Lenten Indian Lentil Soup with Sweet Potato

This hearty, spicy lentil soup is based on James Peterson's Indian Curried Split Pea Soup, from his book, Vegetables. The ingredients have been adapted to be oil-free for Lent. The original recipe calls for split yellow peas, which take about half the time to cook as the brown lentils used in this adaptation. At any rate, this soup is best a couple days after cooking it, after all the flavours have been completely infused.

Makes 8 first-course servings

1 1/2 cups (3/4 lb) brown lentils
2 medium-sized cooking onions, minced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, cut in half lengthwise and finely chopped
1/2 – 1 tbsp sea salt
2 jalapeño chiles, seeded and minced
4 cups water
1 can (28 oz). whole or diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon homemade garam masala (see below)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
one 14 oz can of coconut milk
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
pinch of paprika


Rinse and drain the lentils.

Next, combine the onion, celery, sweet potato, and chiles with the lentils and water into a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Also add half of the salt. Heat over medium-high heat until the mixture becomes aromatic, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer gently, covered for another 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer, covered for 25 – 35 minutes more, or until the lentils are puree soft.

Now, you'll have to forgive me for using a tiny bit of oil during Great Lent, for sautéing the spices in. Heat 1 tablespoon of sunflower or canola oil in a small saucepan over mediim low heat. Next, stir in the garam masala and turmeric, continuing to stir for about 1 minute or until you smell their fragrance, then immediately remove them from heat and reserve.

Stir the coconut milk into the soup and bring the soup quickly to a simmer. Stir the entire spice mixture into the soup. Taste for saltiness, and add the rest if desired.

You can serve this soup immediately, or wait a day or two for a more full-flavoured version. When serving, garnish it with chopped cilantro and a pinch of paprika.



Garam Masala Recipe
Adapted from James Peterson's recipe in Vegetables, which he in turn adapted from Indian food writer Julie Sahni. The original recipe made a batch amount; this adaptation will make approximately 2 tablespoons.

You will need a spice grinder for this recipe, or else the following spices must be pre-ground. I use a cheap coffee grinder, which works perfectly fine.

1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds (a bit more if using unground cumin seeds)
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds (a bit more if using unground coriander seeds)
The seeds from 8 cardamom pods
3 or 4 inch stick of cinnamon (or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon)
6 whole cloves
8 black pepercorns, whole
1 bay leaf

Combine all the spices into the grinder and run until the spices are adequately milled and the delicious flavours are released from within the sealed seeds. If some chunkier bits remain, you can sift them out and put them through the grinder again.