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Easy 30-Minute Red Lentil Soup With Curry Yogurt Recipe

The Food Lab

Unraveling the mysteries of home cooking through science.

J. Kenji López-Alt
Published: Last Updated:
Easy 30-Minute Red Lentil Soup With Curry Yogurt Recipe

[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Read more: The Food Lab: Easy Red Lentil Soup With Curry Yogurt

  • Yield:Serves 4 to 6
  • Active time: 30 minutes
  • Total time:30 minutes

Ingredients

  • For the Soup
  • 1 small carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
  • 6 scallions, white parts only, roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, split in half
  • 1-inch knob ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 jalapeño or Serrano chili, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
  • 1 pound red or yellow lentils
  • 1 1/2 quarts homemade or store-bought low sodium vegetable stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice from 2 lemons
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  •  
  • For the Curry Yogurt
  • 1 cup non-fat Greek-style yogurt
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 teaspoon Japanese or Madras curry powder

Directions

  1. 1.

    Combine carrots, celery, scallions, garlic, ginger, and chili in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until very finely chopped, about 15 short pulses, scraping down bowl as necessary.

  2. 2.

    Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chopped vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and aromatic but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add lentils, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Simmer, stirring occasionally until lentils are fully tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

  3. 3.

    While lentils cook, combine yogurt, cilantro, and curry powder in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a small serving bowl.

  4. 4.

    When lentils are cooked, remove and discard bay leaves. Working in two batches, purée soup in a blender, drizzling in remaining extra virgin olive oil while blender runs. Return soup to a pot, whisk in lemon juice, thin to desired consistency with water or stock, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve immediately, passing the curry yogurt and extra-virgin olive oil on the side.

This Recipe Appears In
The Food Lab: Easy Red Lentil Soup With Curry Yogurt

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J. Kenji López-Alt Chief Culinary Advisor

J. Kenji López-Alt is a stay-at-home dad who moonlights as the Chief Culinary Consultant of Serious Eats and the Chef/Partner of Wursthall, a German-inspired California beer hall near his home in San Mateo. His first book, The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science (based on his Serious Eats column of the same name) is a New York Times best-seller, recipient of a James Beard Award, and was named Cookbook of the Year in 2015 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Kenji's next project is a children’s book called Every Night is Pizza Night, to be released in 2020, followed by another big cookbook in 2021.

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