Red Lentil Soup

Yesterday New York City was snowed out, and I managed to take a few pictures of my snowy neighborhood. The snow day seemed perfect for a bowl of steaming soup, and we decided to make some simple red lentil soup with an Indian touch. Since the lentils cook in about 15 minutes, that seemed the easiest way to a warm dinner. The remains of a crusty loaf of bread sitting on the counter seemed just right to mop up the soup. I kept the soup really simple and used only a few ingredients to make a brothy soup as opposed to a chunky heavy soup. Also dished up a side dish of simple potatoes (that recipe is for another day!) to go with the soup.

To prepare the soup you will need:

• 1/2 cup of red lentils
• 2 garlic cloves finely minced
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
• 4 cups of vegetable broth
• 2-3 dried red chilles
• 1 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste
  *A pinch of turmeric (optional)

Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions. When the onions turn golden brown, add the minced garlic. Add the red chillies and stir well. Add the vegetable broth and salt to the onion mixture and bring to a boil. Add the lentils and let it simmer for about 15 minutes or until the lentils are done. Add cilantro and serve.

*If you like your soup yellow in color, add a pinch of turmeric to the vegetable broth while it comes to a boil.