Meatless Monday - Spiced Lentil Soup

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You know how sometimes you just feel really blah? A big week or little sleep or both? Yesterday by abut 2pm I was a shadow of a human and wondered how I would make it through the rest of the day. It felt like a cross between a hangover, jet lag and that time I stayed up all night playing Monopoly when I was 12.

Soup is the first thing my body seems to want when I'm out of sorts, and it has to be brothy and somewhat salty. Tom Kha or coconut soup is excellent in such circumstances, but as I was chilling out with the baby on the bed, my thoughts turned to Indian food and I knew I had to make some kind of spiced, but not spicy lentil soup. This is what I came up with and it was perfect! I definitely should have made a bigger batch, because it's all gooooone and I'm still tired.

It was made by throwing random things into a pot, so adjust these to your liking. The combination seems to work well, but soup is so subjective :)

Ingredients
1 onion, diced finely
1 carrot, diced finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chilli, diced finely
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon mustard seed
2 bruised cardamom pods
2 cups stock
2 cups water
1.5 cups red lentils

Directions

1. In a medium pot, saute the onion and carrot on medium heat in a little oil and butter a few minutes until soft.

2. Add garlic and chilli, and cook for 1 minute. Add spices and cook 1 more minute until fragrant.

3. Add liquid and lentils and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer 10-15 minutes until lentils are cooked and the soup is at a thickness you're happy with. Either add extra lentils and cook a bit longer, or add more water.

4. Taste for seasoning and return to a high heat quickly to bring the soup to the temperature you want.

So for Meatless Monday...

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