Curried lentil soup with turmeric

This rich, tasty soup offers gut-friendly fibre in the lentils along with the gorgeous golden glow of turmeric. Turmeric’s anti-inflammatory health benefits are enhanced by combining it with coconut oil and black pepper.

Credit: 4 Weeks to Better Sleep / Simon & Schuster

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive or canola oil
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp medium curry powder
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 25 g piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 200 g dried red split lentils
• 1 × 400 ml can full-fat organic coconut milk
• 1 lime or ½ lemon, juice only
• Handful fresh coriander, leaves roughly chopped, to serve

For the crispy fried onions:

• 6 tbsp olive or canola oil
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced into thin rings

Instructions

1. To make the soup, heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion for 5 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly. Add the curry
   powder, turmeric and ginger and cook for 1 further minute, stirring.
   
2. Add the lentils, coconut milk and 800ml cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer, partially cover with a lid and cook for 20–25 minutes, or until the lentils are very soft, stirring more frequently towards the end of the cooking time. Add a little extra water if needed.
   
3. Just before the soup is ready, prepare the crispy onions. Place the oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for 6 minutes, or until golden and crisp, stirring frequently. Take off the heat, remove the onion with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
   
4. Add the lemon or lime juice to the soup and season with flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Ladle into warmed bowls and top with golden onion rings and coriander.

Cook’s tip:

To turn this recipe into a lentil dahl for a more substantial meal, cook with around 600ml water instead and top with halved hard-boiled eggs as well as the onion rings.

If making ahead, you may need to add extra water when reheating.

This recipe is from '4 Weeks to Better Sleep' by Dr Michael Mosley (AU$39.99 / Simon & Schuster).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.