Mulligatawny Palak - A Curried Lentil Soup With Spinach

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, or other vegetable oil such as sunflower
• 3 tablespoons garam masala, the most important ingredient
• 1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped, including leaves
• 1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 1 leek, finely sliced (optional)
• 8 garlic cloves, minced, crushed or finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (fresh cilantro)
• 2 cups split red lentils, about 400g, dried
• 1/4 cup brown lentils, about 50g, dried
• 3 liters boiling water, more if necessary
• salt
• 1/2 lemon
• 200 g spinach (or swiss chard)

Recipe

• 1 heat the oil and garam masala in a large pot over medium-high heat and add the onion, stirring often with a wooden spoon.
• 2 about 2 minutes later add the celery, carrot and leek. keep stirring while the vegetables soften.
• 3 about 8 minutes later add the garlic, turmeric and pepper.
• 4 a couple of minutes later (by now your kitchen will smell delicious) add the coriander, red lentils, brown lentils and boiling water. salt lightly.
• 5 at the same time squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, and zest some lemon rind into the pot with a grater.
• 6 give it a good mix and cover pot with lid. allow to simmer, adjusting heat downwards and stirring occasionally.
• 7 after about 30 minutes, roughly blend the mulligatawny in the pot with a hand blender. the split red lentils will already be soft and creamy, so just blend until most of the brown lentils are incorporated. leave a bit of texture in the dhal.
• 8 stir, check the consistency and taste, and add more hot water and salt if you need to.
• 9 add the chopped spinach to the pot, give it a good stir, replace the lid and turn heat to low. let the spinach wilt in the dhal for the next 10 minutes or so.
• 10 enjoy your mulligatawny palak!