January 23, 2007

RED LENTIL-DILL SOUP WITH DILL CREAM !





Here is my first ever contribution to Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging!:) This week's WHB is hosted by Ed of "Tomato". Thank you for hosting. The herb I am using this week is a very flavorful and aromatic "Dill", one of my favorite herbs!




The name "dill" is thought to have originated from a Norse or Anglo-Saxon word 'dylle' meaning to soothe or lull, the plant having the carminative property of relieving gas.Its fernlike leaves as well as seeds are aromatic, and are used to flavor many foods, such as pickled salmon, borscht, soups and pickles.(Info:WIKI)

Dill Leaves:
Dill are best when used fresh, as they lose their flavor rapidly if dried, however, freeze-dried dill leaves preserve their flavor relatively well for a few months.It is also very easy to grow a supply of plants in summer months.Dill oil can be extracted from the leaves, stems and seeds of the plant.(Info: WIKI)

Red Lentil-Dill Soup with Dill Cream:
This soup is inspired by Indian Dal. Dal-Roti (Lentil Gravy and Wheat flat bread) in India is as staple as Meat and Potato in the west.I chose to use Red Lentil for this as it is easily available and a bunch of aromatic Dill leaves with few Indian spices to make a delicious soup and topped with Sour Cream-Dill-Scallion cream and crisp fried Onion rings.You could add any veg and meat for texture and flavor if you like. Sounds great? Let's make some soup!:))


Serve this with some warm crusty bread to soak up all the soupy goodness!


How To Make Soup:



Cook 1 cup red lentils with 4 cups of water in the microwave until soft and whisk.Heat 1 tbsp butter or oil in a pan,fry 1 minced onion until soft,add in 2 minced garlic,stir for a min.Add in 1 tbsp Coriander seeds pd,1 tsp cumin seeds pd,1/2 tsp Garam masala or 1/4 tsp Allspice,1/4 tsp turmeric, 1tsp paprika,1/2 cup Tomato sauce.




Stir for 2 mins.Do not burn the spices. Add cooked,mashed lentils,salt,1/8 tsp chill flakes if needed and a bunch of Dill leaves finely chopped (save 2 tbsp Dill for garnish) to the pot and let it boil.You can add water or veg stock to thin it if you like at this stage.Cover and simmer until dill is soft and cooked.Soup is ready when you see a thin film of oil or butter on top,adjust the salt and spices!




Meanwhile,cut 1 small onion to rings and fry in oil until reddish and crisp,drain on the paper towel and cool. Mix 1/4 cup Sour Cream with 2 tbsp Dill leaves,1 tbsp rounds of Scallion,salt and pepper in a bowl.That's it!





To Serve: Ladle the soup into a bowl, add a dollop of Sour Cream-Dill-Scallion cream in the middle and garnish with crisp fried onion rings ,some Scallion rounds on top and serve with a chunk of crusty bread!! YUM!!!!
Note: You can add 2 tsp Rasam Pd (Indian Spice pd) if you have it in your pantry to make a tastier soup and serve with rice!


Delicious Lentil-Dill soup is ready to dig in!!:))


Have a great tasting warm and spicy soup on a cold day! Enjoy!!:)

29 comments:

Gattina Cheung said...

Another wonderful recipe Asha! I always like dill (match with sour cream and scallions!) your soup really looks great!
Btw, did you change the layout of your home blog as well?

Pooja said...

This one is simply great! you can cook anything nicely, you know ? I really liked this very much , i have few recipe wiht dill , this is joingto add one more, i am surely gonna try it.
thanks for sharing , Indeed a nice entry for WHB too :)
-Pooja

FH said...

Hi Gattina,it tasted wonderful!Even my kids ate it happily!:D
Yes I did change the Template,got tired of looking at Pink!:))
Hope you try,thanks.

Hello Pooja,pure vegetarian recipe, eh? Makes you happy,I know!:)You can Spinach too or veg.Versatile soup.Enjoy.

Ed said...

Welcome to hWeekend herb Blogging and thanks for taking part (It's my first time hosting). I'm a big fan of Dhaal and this sounds just as good. i often wonder what is the difference betwen a lentil soup and a dhaal. Is there?

FH said...

Hi Ed,first time contributing and hosting for both of us!Hurray!:))
Glad to hear that you like Dhal too!
In India,Dhal basically means "any gravy dish" cooked with any split or whole lentils(dal)of any kind.
In US,any split grams are called Lentils in English,so the name Red Lentils to specify the type of dal which we call as "Masoor Dal" in India!Did you get all that?:D

Dals are any split lentils and "Dhal" or " Dal" is a gravy dish made of lentils!Thanks Ed.Happy round up!:)

sra said...

Hey Asha, so you took the plunge into WHB! Please post more dill dishes on your main blog - I'm sure Kannadigas have a wide repertoire of those - it's such a pretty thing but I rarely buy it because I don't have too many ideas about it

Bong Mom said...

Hey Asha, I am not able to comment on your other blog. Don't know why, tried yesterday also

The dal looks great and your other posts have too many good things
I loved the way your lawn lloked in the first pic, the green has come out very well
sandeepa

FH said...

Hi sra!I have some Dill dishes like Rasam and a side dish in my recipe Index,check out!I will post more.
Weekly events are little hard for me to participate for lack of time but I like monthly one's!Thanks girl for visiting!:)

Hi Sandeepa,should be okay now,blogger trouble,not me!:D
Thanks ,lawn becomes green when it rains often,we love it!Enjoy the recipes and I enjoy participating in the events too now!:))

Patricio Schmidt said...

Asha, It's so good to find a place where you can find this wonderful recipes!
I'm very happy to landed here.
Promise to be back soon!
Greetings from southamerica

FH said...

Hi Patricio,glad you found me and great to see you here!:))
I will hold to your promise,make sure you come back!:D Thank you.
Greetings from an Indian who lives in US!!

Keshi said...

I always loved lentil soup...my best friend is a Turkish girl..her mum makes lentil soup bt in a different way.

these pics look yummy as usual! Asha ur hubby n kids r sooo lucky to have a mum who cooks great food and with such passion.

Have a great weekend sweetie HUGGGGGGGGZ!
Keshi.

Anonymous said...

Hi Asha, soup looks wonderful :) I wanted to comment on your shephard's pie et al, but I still can't get an active link for anything on foodie's hope. I wonder whether anyone else has that issue, or if it's only my machine -- anyway it all looks fabulous! My dream home is on the water too -- but fresh water Great Lakes! All in good time!

Thanks again about spice advice, too :)

Margie said...

Asha
I could not open your other blog.
It was a wonderful post!
And, you got snow!
It looks so pretty!
Thanks for all the great recipes.
Loved reading your MEMe...
you are a very special lady.

Take care!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Oh, I loved knowing your name Asha..means hope...Thanks for sharing that with me today when you visited my blog.

Margie

Menu Today said...

Hi Asha,
I tried dill leaves with moong dal. Making soup is great idea..

FH said...

Hi Keshi,lentil soups are classic,aren't they?!:)I love them.Easy to cook and easy on the stomach!I had to make it little Indian,so mine is unique at WHB!:D
Thank you Keshi.Love you.

Hi Linda,lot of people have access to FH and some don't!It's little weird.I don't know what's happening!I double checked my settings,it's okay.Bummer!
Lake will do for nicely for me too ,Linda!Anything as long as it's water!:)
Wouldn't that be nice to have a little house on water and a boat!All in good time,you are right,fingers and toes crossed!;)

Hi MT! Moong dal is great too.But in US grocery stores,you get Masoor dal easily but not Moong dal for Americans.I used that to make it easy for them since it's for Kalyn's WHB!:)Thanks girl.

Margie said...

Hi Asha
This soup looks so yummy,and I am going to make it!
I did leave a comment here yesterday, but I guess Blogger was acting up again.
Sorry I am not able to access your Foddie's Hope blog...
Hope you have a great weekend!

Margie

FH said...

Thanks Margie.Make the soup and enjoy.Have a great weekend!:))

Suma Gandlur said...

Asha,
Delicious entry.

FH said...

Thanks Suma.I appreciate it!:)

Anh said...

Asha, oh I love love love lentil soup cooking with spices like this. I have never tried it with dill though. Will defenitely cook it soon! Thanks for a great recipe!

Helene said...

That´s looking fine. I give it a try soon.

FH said...

Hi White Poplar,welcome to my blog.Thank you.This soup is mix of Indian and western dishes,delicious.Hope you try!:))

Hi Helene,welcome to you too.Enjoy cooking this dish and let me know how did you like it!Thanks!:))

Katie said...

That sounds really great!
I have some red lentils that I have been looking for something interesting to do with. Thanks for the idea.

FH said...

Thanks Katie!:))
Yeah,put that Red lentils to work and enjoy.It does taste great with a crusty bread on a cold day.

Blog do Mario Mello said...

Oh my god:

What a wonderfull blog and foods...

Relly beautifull..

Mario
Brasil
http://blogdomariomello.blogspot.com

FH said...

Hi Mario,thank you!:))Glad you liked it and hope you try some of them.

FH said...

Thank you Margie!:))
Have a great day,sorry you got some trouble opening it!I will try and fix it.

Anonymous said...

Yummy, the lentil recipe is outstanding. Every time I receive dill in my veggie delivery I make the lentil dill soup.

Jane from San Diego

FH said...

Thanks Jane. I love Dill too, yummy with lentils. Hope you try this recipe too! :)