Vegan Curry Lentil Soup with Potatoes & Greens - A Hearty, 1 Pot Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my lentil soup not thick? ›

Cook It Longer

Sometimes soup just needs to simmer longer to reach the perfect consistency. Check to see if the vegetables are tender, and then taste the broth. If the soup tastes a bit watery, give it more time.

Brown and green lentils hold up well to cooking and can be used interchangeably in recipes, since they have similar cooking times. Red and yellow lentils are often sold in split form, so they cook faster and break down easier.

This lentil soup should be fairly thick, but if you prefer a thicker soup, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl.

I went with green lentils, but you could also sub other varieties if you'd like (just adjust cooking time accordingly). And if you're not a lentil fan, you could always sub cooked beans, such as white beans or chickpeas – both would be lovely here.

Unsoaked legumes are much harder to digest, and the consequences are “windy.” I prefer to soak all my legumes because then I can enjoy eating large amounts of lentil soup without feeling all bloated. Lentils are 100 times easier to digest when soaked for a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 12 hours.

Cornstarch is a great option as it is a natural thickening agent, but you'll want to be careful about how much you use. Start with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch whisked together with cold water to create a slurry. Then, gradually add the slurry to the soup, letting it boil for one to two minutes before adding more.

Do you cook lentils before adding to soup? Nope! Dried lentils cook in 35 minutes in the soup, and there's no need to soak them either!

I recommend using green or French green lentils because they hold their shape in the soup, adding satisfying texture. Brown lentils are also a fine option.

You can also add salt, aromatics like a halved onion, herbs, and spices to the pot before the lentils and the water, like beans, or wait until they're done cooking to flavor them.

You can also use flour or cornflour to thicken a soup. Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer.

Why is my lentil soup tasteless? ›

To avoid a bland lentil soup, use a flavorful broth—whether that's homemade or store-bought chicken or vegetable broth. The other key is building flavor. To do so, use aromatics like onions and garlic, include fresh or dried herbs, and season well with salt and pepper.

For soups, chili and stews, mix sour cream with some all purpose flour or cornstarch (1/2 cup sour cream to 2 tbsp. flour/cornstarch), then slowly add some of meal's liquid to the sour cream (should not be boiling hot or you may get it curdled).

Cumin seeds or ground cumin helps with digestion and is perfect in a soup, curry or dal (lentil dish). Carom seeds, fennel seeds, turmeric and peppermint are other great digestive aids. Cooking beans with a large strip of dried kombu, a Japanese dried kelp, may minimise their gas-producing properties too.

Tempeh is another fairly universal replacement. Like tofu, it tends to work with all flavors and cuisines. It's also a great replacement for sturdy lentils and split peas (brown, black, green--anything but red lentils which are soft and mushy) since tempeh can be crumbled into little hard bits like lentils.

Well the terminology is used in 2 situations: Dried Lentil/Pulse/Bean is called daal. For e.g. – Mung Beans is called Hara Moong Daal, or Split Yellow Peas is called Toor Daal. And any dish or lentil soup prepared using this food group is also called daal.

You can thicken lentils by simmering it a little more or adding a table spoon of cream ( malai) into it…. If there's more liquid than you like in your lentils, after they're cooked, you can pour off the excess liquid into a different pot, and boil the liquid down until it's thicker.

Since lentils are starchy, earthy in flavor, and can be on the bland side, there are many ways to make them flavorful, including by adding them into soup. When other ingredients are introduced that complement lentils like onions, garlic, spices, and lemon, the taste is out of this world.

Whisk in a bit of flour or starch.

Both flours and starches help thicken sauces effectively. However, if you add them directly into your soup, they will clump. Instead, whisk a small amount of soup into the starch or flour until it dissolves, then add the resulting mixture into the soup.

It's all whipped up in one pot with simple and inexpensive ingredients like fresh veggies, bold spices, and of course plenty of lentils. It's a wonderfully thick soup that's equal parts filling and flavorful!