Mixed Bean and Lentil Soup - Indian Style

Being a fan of any kind of bean or lentil soup, be it the Moroccan lentil soup from TOGO's or the Vegetarian Lentil Soup from Whole foods, I always wanted to try cooking it myself - and finally i got to try it on a nice Sunday afternoon! It came out spicier than I had wanted it to but I still enjoyed it ;-)

here's the recipe...

== Prep ==

Usually Mixed beans are available in Whole foods or in Korean or Indian grocery stores. The mix I used for this soup had Red Kidney Beans, White Pinto beans, Green Lentils, Barley, Adzuki Beans along with skinned, split Moong dal.

Soak 1 Cup of mixed beans for at least 8 hours. I actually ended up soaking it for 3 days for lack of time to cook it - but it turned out to be the right amount of soaking since I did not pressure cook them. Look here for more instructions on cooking beans.

== Cooking ==

Boil the mixed beans along with 1/4 cup moong dal (split & skinned) - this lentil when overcooked, gives a creamy texture instead of a watery soup...

Boil or Steam 1 cup of chopped spinach (I steam it in the microwave for 3 minutes) - be sure not to overcook the spinach!

In a skillet, fry the following ingredients in 1 tbsp of olive oil : 1 tbsp cumin, 3/4 tbsp red pepper flakes or 1/2 tbsp of red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric.

Blend the fried spices with 1/4 cup of water.

Now, sauté 1 cup of chopped tomato with 1 tsp of oil till it becomes semi-pureed and then add the blended spice mix and bring it to a boil.

Then add the beans, spinach and 1 tbsp chopped garlic and bring to a boil.

add salt and a tbsp of butter as necessary and the soup is ready! you can also garnish it with some chopped cilantro if you like...

Enjoy the soup!