Recipes For Lentil Soup With Red Lentils

The Central European lentil soup consists of brown plate lentils, but the little red linens are also very tasty!

We like to combine lentil soup with sausage, bacon and hearty ingredients and usually serve as a thick stew instead of a thinner soup. In Central Europe, lentil soup is more of a winter dish and usually not very creative in the recipe variants. But there is another way!

Lentil soup made from red lentils

A “red” lentil soup is rather rare here, because red lentils are more likely to be served in other cultures, for example in India as “Dhal”.

But lentil soup made from red lentils is even easier to prepare than the classic, Central European lentil stew, so you should definitely try a “red” lentil soup.

Red lentils are actually orange and tend to turn yellowish as they cook. They are smaller and flatter than the usual brown plate lentils and therefore do not need to be soaked or pre-cooked before cooking. They cook quickly and are soft and lightly creamy when cooked.

Brown lentils require soaking and long cooking, while red lentils should only be rinsed briefly in a colander with cold water before cooking. Then they are ready to use immediately.

Trust our recipes and discover red lentils for yourself!

Simple red lentil soup, Indian

The preparation of this lentil soup is easy, its taste is sensationally exotic thanks to the Indian spices and a good portion of coconut milk.

An absolute treat that you should definitely try! For 4 large plates of lentil soup you will need:

• 1kg tomatoes (canned, chopped and drained)
• 600 ml vegetable stock
• 300 ml coconut milk
• 175 g red lentils (dry weight)
• 2 tbsp oil (sesame oil, if available)
• 2 cloves of garlic (minced or crushed)
• 1 onion (finely diced)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon Garam Masala spice mix
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• Fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Mix the spices (except for the fresh coriander leaves). Heat the oil in a saucepan and sweat the onion cubes and garlic in it until the onions are translucent. Then add the mixed spices and steam them for about half a minute.

Then add the liquid ingredients : tomatoes, vegetable stock, lemon juice and coconut milk and boil everything once.

Then pour in the red lentils while stirring and let the lentil soup simmer over low heat for about 20-25 minutes until the lentils are cooked through.

Then season with salt and pepper and sprinkle the soup with the fresh coriander leaves. If you like, you can add a little lemon juice to the finished soup. Good Appetite!

Turkish lentilsoup

The real Turkish cuisine is very different from what we get offered as Turkish cuisine in the snack bar around the corner. Or has there been lentil soup there before?

Every Turkish housewife has her own recipe. Our recipe variant is this:

• 2 liters of vegetable stock
• 300 g red lentils
• 2 onions
• 1 large potato
• 1 large carrot
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• half a teaspoon of salt
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

• 2 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp fresh nana mint, chopped
• 1/2 tbsp paprika powder, noble sweet
• 1/2 tbsp paprika powder, hot pink
• 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• Natural yoghurt

Cut the vegetables into small cubes and bring the vegetable stock to a boil.

Put the diced vegetables and lentils in the boiling water, reduce the heat a little and stir constantly for 20-25 minutes light Simmer. Be careful not to burn anything!

Shortly before the end of the cooking time, melt the butter in a pan and roast the garlic, paprika, pepper, tomato paste and cumin. Add to the soup and puree it with a hand blender. Season with salt and serve hot.

Add the yogurt sprinkled with mint and parsley in a separate bowl, which everyone can use to taste their own soup.

General preparation tips

Red lentils tend to cook to a pulp. But if you rinse off the starch adhering to the surface with plenty of cold water before cooking, the lentils will stay in better shape.

The information on the amount of liquid is not always correct. This is due to the fact that each lentil has a slightly different starch content depending on the time of harvest and the growing region and therefore needs a little more or less water.

If necessary, add a little water if you notice that the soup is turning into a pulp!