Name: Indian-Style Black Bean Soup
Yield: Makes 8 Servings
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon salt; 1 garlic clove, finely chopped; 2 medium-size onions, finely chopped; 4 medium-size tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 2 cups drained and seeded canned tomatoes, chopped; a 1-inch slice of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped; 2 teaspoons ground cumin; ½ to 1 cup heavy cream; 1 cup black gram beans; 7 cups water; ½ cup ghee or 1 stick unsalted butter; ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro leaves; 1-½ cups yogurt; 1 teaspoon ground cardamom; 2 tablespoons ground coriander

Preparation info

Makes
8
Servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Splendid Soups

By James Peterson

Published 2000

About

This soup is modeled after a luxurious and traditional Indian dal in Julie Sahni’s book Classic Indian Cooking. Whereas the original recipe is thick and chililike, this version can be served as a soup with the rich and delicate spice flavors of the original still coming through.

To make this soup, you’ll need tiny beans called black gram beans, which you can find in fancy food stores or in Indian markets, where they’re called sabut urad dal or kali dal