Dieters Delight - Shorabit Adas

The soup made of red lentils - a very traditional Middle Eastern recipe - is loaded with goodness. It's extremely simple to make, not to mention very tasty. There are various recipes to this, but what's given here is the simplest of all, made with the ingredients readily available.

Ingredients (Serves 1)

Red Lentils (Masoor dal) - 1/4 cup
Onion - 1/2 - chopped
Garlic - 1 clove
Cumin - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Water - 1 1/4 cup
Mint leaves - few

Optional: (these are variations and I didn't use them in my recipe)
Carrots - 1 chopped
Red Pumpkin (parangikkai) - 1/2 cup chopped

Recipe:

Heat the oil in a pan, add the cumin and saute for a few seconds. Add onions, garlic and saute for a minute. Add the washed red lentils and let it absorb the flavor of the onions and garlic. (At this point you can add the vegetables) Add salt. Add the water and pressure cook until soft. (I used an electric cooker and cooked for 20 minutes). Puree this in a blender.

Strain through a sieve. You won't have much of a residue. Return this back to the stove and heat through gently.

This is typically served with warm bread :-)