Yemenite Lentil Soup

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Ahead of time, rinse the legumes in a colander until the water runs clear. No need to soak.

   Colander

   💡Split peas and small lentils don't need soaking; dried beans do, otherwise they cook for hours and stay hard inside.
2. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStovePot
3. 3
   Add the onion and fry for 8 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and deep golden.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 4
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 5
   Sprinkle in the turmeric, cumin, ginger, cardamom and hot paprika and stir for 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant.
2. 6
   Add the tomatoes and cook 5 minutes, stirring, until the tomatoes softens.

   Stove
3. 7
   Add the legumes and water and bring to a boil.

   Stove
4. 8
   Turn down the heat and simmer with a lid 30 minutes, until the legumes is tender.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 9
   Blend the soup with a stick blender until smooth.

   Stick blender

   💡Legumes cooked until they fall apart, like red lentils and split peas, blend with a stick blender into a velvety soup without cream.
6. 10
   Season with salt and the lemon juice, taste and adjust.

   💡The lemon goes in at the end: acid at the start of cooking slows down the softening of the legumes. Adjust the salt at the end, after the soup has reduced.
7. 11
   Sprinkle the cilantro on top.