Moroccan Lentil Soup
and not just any curry powder
As promised, here it is! Our most often made soup at Mary’s Marvelous, Moroccan Lentil. If this is your first time cooking with red lentils, this recipe is a great place to start.
However, since lentils are one of the oldest foods in our world, I believe they deserve some historical background.
Red Lentils
Known as Masoor dahl in Hindi, lentils are an important ingredient in Indian, Mediterranean, Ethiopian, Middle Eastern, and Western Asian cooking. They belong to the legume family, which includes peas, beans, lupines, and peanuts, and are classified as a pulse—specifically, a dried edible seed of a plant.
Lentils are one of our ancient foods
Lentils were originally cultivated around 8,000 years ago, coinciding with the beginning of crop cultivation by humans. (I find this absolutely amazing!)
They were first grown in what is now Syria, with evidence of their use found in ancient ruins throughout Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, and Iran. In the United States, lentils were first planted in 1916 by a farmer in Washington state who received seeds from a fellow Seventh-Day Adventist, followed by commercial cultivation of lentils beginning in the 1930s.
They are now grown in 53 countries worldwide, with major suppliers including Turkey, Australia, Canada, and India, as well as the United States, particularly in North Dakota, Washington, Montana, and Idaho.
In addition to their amazing ancient history
The lentil is packed with nutrients, is a great source of protein, fiber, and iron, and contains almost no fat. They can be whole (such as brown or black lentils) split or ground into flour.
Some of the beauty of the red lentil is its quick cooking nature, slight sweetness, and its creaminess when cooked (which makes it great for soup) vs a brown lentil that can hold its shape.
Not all curry powders are the same!
It’s true—it's nearly as diverse and unique as each of us on the planet. Across regions, cuisines, families, and brands, spice blends exist in various proportions, ranging from scorchingly hot to very mild.
On a recent foray to one of my favorite New York City spice shops, Kalustyans, I counted 23 curry powders!
http://www.kalustyans.com
So, how do you choose?
If you are a tinkerer in the kitchen and have a good source of different curry blends available, play around! If you want a guaranteed “go to” curry powder that is available in most decent grocery store, try Sun Brand. I have this in my collection, and it’s what we used at Mary’s Marvelous. I like their blend and its mild spiciness, and it comes in a few different sizes, so you don’t have to buy a huge can that will sit in your spice drawer for years.
And as a side note
As with any dried spices, freshness matters. Dry spices do not improve with age or exposure to heat! If you have jars of spices more than a year old, I would consider their worthiness! Especially toss anything from the 1980s or 90s! Clearing out my mother-in-law's kitchen, I found jars of spices that were 30 years old!
Moroccan Lentil Soup
This recipe is perfectly simple, quick to prepare, and absolutely wonderful. It yields a large quantity because I like to have extra soup to keep in my freezer or to give as a gift. However, you can easily halve the recipe if you prefer a smaller amount. This soup was one of our top sellers at Mary’s Marvelous.
Yield: 4 quarts