Spiced carrot & lentil soup

Spiced carrot & lentil soup

A delicious, spicy blend, packed full of iron and low fat to boot. It's ready in under half an hour or can be made in a slow cooker

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian, Dairy-free

To make dairy-free, see 'Try' below

Method

  1. Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes for 1 min, or until they start to jump around the pan and release their aromas. Scoop out about half of the seeds with a spoon and set aside. Add the oil, carrot, lentils, stock and milk to the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have swollen and softened.
  2. Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth (or leave it chunky if you prefer). Season to taste and finish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of the reserved toasted spices. Serve with warmed naan breads.
Try

Make it Moroccan

Substitute the chilli flakes and cumin seeds for a few teaspoons of harissa paste. You could add cooked shredded chicken at the end of cooking, too.

IF YOU WANT TO USE A SLOW COOKER...

Place half the cumin seeds, half the chilli flakes, the oil, carrots, lentils and 700ml stock into your slow cooker pot. Cover and cook on High for 3 hours until the lentils are tender. Dry-fry the remaining cumin seeds and chilli flakes just until fragrant. When the lentils are done, stir in the milk and whizz up the soup depending on how chunky you'd like it.

Make it dairy-free

For a richer but dairy-free alternative, use a can of reduced-fat coconut milk instead of the milk.

238 kcalories, protein 11.0g, carbohydrate 34.0g, fat 7.0 g, saturated fat 1.0g, fibre 5.0g, salt 0.25 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2005.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 141-160

  • Binder photo Loza

    18 August 2009

    Loza rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this in a large pan the other day and it was very, very yummy. Went overboard with the chilli and cumin so it was quite spicy but everyone who i was cooking for had a cold at the time so i think it helped blast their sinuses! And with a big dollop of cream it was just right. Would defo make this again.

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  • Binder photo cathwilko

    26 August 2009

    cathwilko rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    followed the recipe to the letter but found the soup had a very bizarre texture. it was very chalky. the flavour was nice though and my 3 year old loved it. nice but wont be making again

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  • Binder photo Khush

    27 August 2009

    Khush rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Quick and easy to make, I make loads on a Sunday and it keeps me going with healthy lunches all week.

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  • Binder photo Nadine

    29 August 2009

    Nadine rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I liked this recipe because it's quick and the ingredients are the type you always have in stock. I started by frying an onion, clove of garlic and then followed the recipe above. I tasted it as I was cooking and thought it needed something else, so I added salt, pepper, two teaspoons of curry powder and a tablespoon of butter to give it some depth. It was delicious. I liked the sweetness of the carrots, the heat of the spice and the body of the lentils. It tasted great with a dollop of low fat creme fraiche.

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  • Binder photo pinkiepie

    31 August 2009

    pinkiepie rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Very nice. I added onions and left out the milk.

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  • Binder photo Claire Wood

    02 September 2009

    Claire Wood rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Surprisingly nice. I didn't expect much from just a couple of ingredients. I usually put onions in everything so was really surprised how good it tasted. Really easy too.

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  • Binder photo Elize

    10 September 2009

    Elize rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Elena

    13 September 2009

    Elena rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made it with coconut milk and it was delicious and filling! My toddler liked dunking his bread in it!

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  • Binder photo jojams

    21 September 2009

    jojams rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    great simple soup, couldn't be quicker and the boys ate it up even with the lentils in it. Added a parsnip as i had leftovers and it gave it a nice lightness. No need for the milk for me though :-)

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  • Binder photo Babs

    23 September 2009

    Babs rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I substituted the cumin and chilli for 3 heaped teaspoons of harissa paste, heated gently for a few mins before adding carrots etc.. I also omitted the oil as there is oil in the paste. Delicious, spicy and filling. :-)

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  • Binder photo cook33

    29 September 2009

    cook33 commented on this recipe

    Easy to make and you don't need many ingredients. I made this when i hardly had anything left in the cupboards. I added too many cumin seeds so next time i'll put in 1 and 1/2tsps of cumin.

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  • Binder photo Jennyf

    04 October 2009

    Jennyf commented on this recipe

    I used onion and garlic in this as well as home made harissa paste, which I'd just made a batch of, and it was superduper!!!

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  • Binder photo Jennyf

    04 October 2009

    Jennyf rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Yes!

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  • Binder photo jodie black

    08 October 2009

    jodie black rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    this is a fantastic winter soup. didn't add the cream or have it with naan bread but is so delicious will be a favourite over the cold months!

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  • Binder photo Smurfette

    09 October 2009

    Smurfette rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo clairerd

    18 October 2009

    clairerd rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I just made this soup using extra cumin and chilli and with coconut milk instead of milk- wow amazing, didn't expect it to be so tasty. I made a double amount so I can freeze it for work and I'm glad because I don't think it will be around long. Easy-peasy to cook too, well worth all the grating!

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  • Binder photo mrsweebri

    19 October 2009

    mrsweebri rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Not really spicy, but very filling and tasty all the same.

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  • Binder photo La Cheshire Chat

    22 October 2009

    La Cheshire Chat rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I made this last night using coconut milk instead of moo milk. and using Garam Masala with ground cumin instead of the whole spices. I also didn't bother shredding the carrots (if you're going to stick blend it, why bother?) just chunked them up, let them cook for 5 minutes in the stock, then added half red lentils and half Moong Dahl. Really quick and easy light supper with whole grain bread and my girls (9 & 11) had two bowls each!

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  • Binder photo Sue

    22 October 2009

    Sue rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I loved this soup, I used ground cumin as I had run out of the seeds, The soup is cheap to make healthy and also fast to make.

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  • Binder photo stigboro

    22 October 2009

    stigboro rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very nice soup, easy to make and the subtle spice really makes it. delicious!!!

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian, Dairy-free

To make dairy-free, see 'Try' below

Healthy vegetarian supper

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • pinch chilli flakes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 600g carrots , washed and coarsely grated (no need to peel)
  • 140g split red lentils
  • 1l hot vegetable stock (from a cube is fine)
  • 125ml milk
  • plain yogurt and naan bread, to serve
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238 kcalories, protein 11.0g, carbohydrate 34.0g, fat 7.0 g, saturated fat 1.0g, fibre 5.0g, salt 0.25 g

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