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 11g, carbohydrate 34g, fat 7 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 5g, salt 0,25 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2005.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 421-440

  • Binder photo julie13bailey

    02 January 2012

    julie13bailey rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I love this soup, I add a bit more stock and some tabasco. I make this at least once a week, thanks for the recipe :-)

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  • Binder photo David

    02 January 2012

    David rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Andy

    03 January 2012

    Andy rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Great Soup, my girlfriend knocked up a batch this week.. its lasted us all week for work. Great winter warmer (awesome with coriander nan bread)

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  • Binder photo deb68

    03 January 2012

    deb68 commented on this recipe

    This soup is so tasty and really easy to make, I add slightly more chilli flakes for that extra kick and coriander added to this soup is also very tasty....yummy:o)

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  • Binder photo Anja

    04 January 2012

    Anja rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Never really liked carrot soup but this one is my absolute favourite. With the oriental flavours it is more like a liquid curry. Absolutely lovely.

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  • Binder photo Julez

    05 January 2012

    Julez commented on this recipe

    This is a fantastic dish - so simple to prepare - we found it filling enough for dinner with some bread - one of my daughters doesn't usually like soup, but she liked this!

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  • Binder photo Julez

    05 January 2012

    Julez rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Sorry I forgot to rate it!

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  • Binder photo merlot65

    06 January 2012

    merlot65 commented on this recipe

    Delicious tasting soup. I added a stick of celery and onion after I'd dry fried the spices and kept all the cumin seeds in. Beautiful!

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  • Binder photo merlot65

    06 January 2012

    merlot65 commented on this recipe

    Delicious tasting soup. I added a stick of celery and onion after I'd dry fried the spices and kept all the cumin seeds in. Beautiful!

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  • Binder photo Kayteemh

    07 January 2012

    Kayteemh rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I didn't add lentils simply just carrot, cumin, chilli milk and stock. It was fab. Topped off by naan bread - easy and very filling. Will certainly be making this again!

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  • Binder photo ayren-marie

    08 January 2012

    ayren-marie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I'm a student and this recipe is perfect for cooking on a budget and still getting all the essential foods I need. I'm also lactose intolerant so can't eat many shop-bought soups any more so this was even better for me. I added half a bag on spinach to my soup to give it that little bit of extra colour and taste - it's perfect!!

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  • Binder photo Sim13

    12 January 2012

    Sim13 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is a lovely soup and very easy to do, i had never made soup before until now. I found recipe very easy to follow and it didn't take long to cook. Will defo be making again.

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  • Binder photo luby12

    13 January 2012

    luby12 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this last night and I was so surprised by how well it went. I normally avoid soup because I don't find it has much flavour but this has heaps. I let everyone at work try it and they were begging for the recipe. Top marks.

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  • Binder photo DMS

    14 January 2012

    DMS rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This recipe is so easy and quick to make and tastes delicious!

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  • Binder photo DMS

    14 January 2012

    DMS commented on this recipe

    This recipe is so easy and quick to make and tastes delicious!

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  • Binder photo Sarah.R.T

    14 January 2012

    Sarah.R.T rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I've had this soup a few times now, and it is nice, but I have found that although i like it, I really have to be in the mood for it. It can get boring quite quickly.

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  • Binder photo sandwij

    17 January 2012

    sandwij rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Smells amazing and tastes lovely. Made it without the milk and softened a diced onion in the spices and oil before i added the carrot, stock and lentils. Delicious with a dolop of creme fraiche.

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  • Binder photo Julia

    18 January 2012

    Julia rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Used ground chilli and cumin and put more stock in as this soup can be quite thick. Made this soup several times my absolute favourite home made soup. Very filling

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  • Binder photo pharout

    22 January 2012

    pharout rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Cheap, quick and easy to make. A new family favourite. Changes: I used ground cumin (instead of cumin seeds) and agree that it needs more stock: I put in an extra pint and a quarter. Finally I garnished with dried chopped parsley. A great way to get your vitamin A, especially for those in the family who won't eat carrots.

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  • Binder photo TheBrainInJane

    24 January 2012

    TheBrainInJane rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Excellent recipe, though the dry-frying of the spices beforehand can be a bit tricky! They burn quite fast. I suggest switching in coconut milk for the regular milk for added flavor. Enjoy!

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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 11g, carbohydrate 34g, fat 7 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 5g, salt 0,25 g

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