Red Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk and Moghul Garam Masala

Name: Red Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk and Moghul Garam Masala
Yield: Makes 8 Servings
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 1-¾ cups coconut milk or 1-½ cups yogurt; ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 6 cups water or vegetable broth; 2 cups pink, yellow, or red Egyptian lentils, checked for pebbles and rinsed; 1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme leaves ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper; 2 medium-size onions, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; ¼ teaspoon saffron threads, soaked in 2 tablespoons warm water for 15 minutes (optional but recommended); ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom; salt; ¼ cup ghee; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Preparation info

Makes
8
Servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Splendid Soups

By James Peterson

Published 2000

About

This soup captures the magic of Indian spices as well as any Indian dish I know. The trick is the mixture of spices called Moghul gar am masala, which, unlike the more common “regular” garam masala, contains saffron and is unavailable commercially; you have to combine the spices yourself. This is no big deal, especially if you use ground spices as I do. I keep my ground spices in the freezer so they stay fresh.