Curried lentil soup

Curried lentil – or mulligatawny – soup is my favourite soup ever. I make a huge vat of soup every Sunday night to eat throughout the week and this one is just the best. It’s rich, spicy, and super filling, especially if you serve it with rice, which is traditional. Mulligatawny is usually a chicken soup, but the version on this recipe is vegetarian. It’s based on one in an old, out-of-print recipe book by Madhur Jaffrey, though I’ve adapted it to fit my own laziness.

For 4 servings, you need:

• 180g red split lentils
• 1.5 litres vegetable or chicken stock
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 medium floury potato (about 120g worth)
• generous pinch of sea salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 3cm cube of fresh ginger
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Pop the lentils, stock, and turmeric into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 30 mins.
2. Peel the potato and chop into small ish chunks. After the half hour, add the potato and simmer for another 30 mins, leaving the lid off this time.
3. Crush the garlic and grate/finely chop the ginger and add them to the soup. Add the cumin, coriander, and cayenne along with the salt and pepper.
4. Leave to simmer for a further 10 mins.
5. Now, using a handheld blender, whizz up the soup until it’s nice and smooth. Add the lemon juice and stir. If you’re eating it immediately, serve with some freshly cooked basmati rice.

The soup will keep for a week or so in an airtight container or can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.