Spicy Lentil soup with pasta

I have been meaning to switch to a healthy diet for a long time now..since today is a very snowy day so what is better than a hot, spicy and hearty lentil soup.This recipe reminds me of my mother trying to give me her lentil curry and i always used to get out of eating it.My sister and my relatives loved my mothers lentil curry but i never really ate it .. not even once... now i miss her and i wish i had her warm curry on this cold cold day. Look how lovely it is outside..

This dish is so versatile, bcos it takes in any ingredient you put in. I love kale, cabbage and pasta so i decided to add them to the soup (that was all i had in my fridge!) I am a big soup person but my husband not a big fan of soup, so my biggest challenge for me was to make him like this and have this recipe as a regular in our diet.  i am adding some ingredients to spice up this soup a bit and make it my own and cos my husband loves spicy food.

This dish is so hearty and filling, i couldn't stop eating it when i tasted it for the seasoning. You dip ur bread in to the broth and the bread is toasty n crunchy, the broth hot and tasty with the carrots, kale and pasta, this is a one wholesome meal.. i am a sucker for good tasty broth and this one turns to be one.

I used a combination of red and brown lentils, but any lentil goes good with this recipe, plus i used pasta, pasta can be added or left out. I did not have chicken stock at home so i added chicken bouillon cubes instead. Vegetarians can add water instead of chicken stock or bouillon cubes. But the bouillon cubes makes it extra tasty...

This dish doesn't have to be a soup necessarily, just leave the soup to simmer until almost all the water is absorbed and you can eat it with naan or rotis... its that versatile...! I feel healthy already:) and my husband loved it!

This dish is for my mom. Mom i eat lentils now !!!

Lentil soup with pasta  Serves 3 

Ingredients

Red lentils and brown lentil combined - 1/3 cup

Garlic cut in to cubes - 4 cloves

Onion chopped- 1

Cabbage shredded - 1 cup 

Kale shredded - 1cup

Carrot chopped - 1 

Pasta pre cooked - 1/2 cup

Tomato paste - 2 - 3 tbs 

Chicken bouillon - 4 - 5 small cubes

Pepper - to taste

Cumin seeds - 1 tspn

Cumin powder - 1 tspn

Garam masala - 1/2 tspn 
Red chilly flakes - 1 tspn

White wine - 1/2 cup

Water - 8 cups

Salt to taste if needed.

Bread slices tosted

Cheese to garnish 

Method:

Heat oil in pan and add cumin seeds,chilly flakes and onion, let it cook for a couple of mins then add garlic and let the onion soften

Add carrots, cabbage, tomato paste, cumin pwdr, pepper and garam masala Let it cook for 5 mins or intil the tomato paste is well combined with the other ingredients and let it cook out.

Add white wine and let the alcohol cook and be absorbed by the onion and carrots.

Add the kale and the lentils and let the lentils coat.

Note :Do not add salt at this stage bcos salt makes the lentils tough

Add water and the bouillon cubes and bring it to boil and simmer and close with a lid and let it cook for 30 mins. Taste and check for seasoning. Add salt if necessary.

Check if the lentils are cooked, if not cover for another 15 mins.If the lentils has absorbed all the waters, add more boiling water to it and bring to boil and cook until the lentils are soft.

Note:The bouillon cubes contain salt in them so taste before season with salt.

Garnish with cheese and you are good to go.

Options

For curry consistency - simmer the mixture for 10 more minutes until almost all of the water is absorbed, serve with roti or naan.