Tasty and nourishing meals
By Harkiran Sodhi

AMONG the most nourishing and relatively inexpensive soups one can make are the lentil and dried beans or pea soups. Particularly for us in India these soups are very easy to make with the large variety of lentils easily available here and the fact that our palate is already accustomed to the taste of lentils makes it that much easier as well.

In the West lentil, dried beans and some versions of pea soups are a rarity and considered a treat. When they are well made, contrary to what most Indians feel, a lentil soup does not taste just like the same dal you eat at lunch every day. Different in texture, flavour as well as the ingredients that go into it, these soups can actually make the good old dal taste very different.

The British had come up with their version of a lentil soup with a little boiled rice and a dash of freshly squeezed lemon added while serving it and given it the name of mulligatawny soup. Literally translated it means "pepper water" though it is in no way a pepper water soup at all.

Pea, bean and lentil soups do contain a lot of protein but as they tend to lack in some of the essential amino acids. Some people like to add in a little meat into the soup or then accompany the meal with milk, eggs or cheese in an attempt to make up for these.

Often in an attempt to make a bean soup the fact that you have to soak the beans in overnight for them to cook easily means that it is not a soup you can make in a hurry. There is though a quicker way out if you do want to serve a bean soup but have forgotten to soak them in earlier.

Cover the beans with cold water and bring it to a boil and simmer for two minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let it stand with the lid tightly shut for one hour. This will be the equivalent of an eight-hour soak.

Lemon lentil soup

Ingredients

1 cup lentils or 250 gms (mostly masur dal or moongi dal are used here in the split variety).

6 cups or 1.5 litres water

Freshly ground black pepper

3 medium sized potatoes boiled, peeled and chopped fine

salt to taste

Lemon juice of 2 lemons or 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Method

Put the lentils into a saucepan with the water and add in a little salt and black pepper and let it all come to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it all simmer for a while till the dal is cooked and soft. Add in the boiled, peeled and chopped potatoes into the cooked lentils and cook for 5-7 minutes more. Remove from the heat and when it is a little cool strain out the mixture from a wire sieve till it is finely ground. Return to the fire and when the soup heats up, it should be of a thick consistency due to the potatoes that have been added. Add in more salt and black pepper if needed and the lemon juice. Serve it hot.

The next recipe is of Pea Soup and one that is popular in Canada.

Pea soup

Ingredients

1 cup or 250 gm of shelled peas

1.5 litres or 6 cups of water

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 sticks of celery chopped

2-3 carrots chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

Boil the peas, onion, celery and carrots in the water till they are all well cooked. Let the mixture cool and then strain it through a wire sieve. Put the strained mixture back onto the fire and heat it up and add in the seasoning. This soup is mostly served with croutons or little cubes of bread that have been either fried in hot oil or then baked in a hot oven till they are crisp. These can be made in different flavours as well like garlic croutons, celery croutons, or oregano croutons. These not only add to the flavour and texture of the soup but also add to the body making the soup thicker in consistency as well as more filling for the stomach.

Apart from these many people like to serve their soups with some type of hot sauces. Green chilly and red chilly sauce are two favourites as they give the soup a tang and zest, taking away the bland flavour most people who don’t like soups, dread.

Soups can be made tasty as well as filling and can be a complete meal both in terms of amount as well as nourishment provided. Children who shy away from dals and vegetables can often be made to eat them all in the guise of a tasty soup that is well made but doesn’t taste like the same dal or vegetable.