- Whole cumin
- Crushed whole corriander
- Crushed whole black pepper
- Crushed dried red chillies
- Paprika powder
- Turmeric powder
- Garam masala (optional)
Lentils and Beans – 500g mix of all the different colours of beans and lentils you can find, perhaps these:
Black beans
Red kidney beans
White navy beans
Yellow split peas
Green split peas
Orange lentils
Chick peas
Stock vegetables:
Onion
Celery
Carrot
Leeks
Bay leaf
Herbs fresh or dried:
Sage
Thyme
Parsley or Coriander
Marjoram
Soak the beans and lentils overnight or for 8-12 hours, drain and rinse well, then boil and simmer in 1 litre of water for 1-2 hours or until the biggest beans are tender.
While the beans are cooking simmer the stock: some celery stalks, a few carrots, an onion cut in half, one inch piece of ginger, a stalk of lemon grass, bay leaf and the green parts of a leek for one hour and add to the beans and their cooking liquid.
Saute together in oil and butter, a small onion diced, 3 cloves of garlic minced, a small carrot diced and a stalk of celery diced, remainder of leek and the spice mixture. After about 5 minutes, add some salt, and the herbs… sage, thyme, marjoram. Saute some more till it’s all is very soft and tender and aromatic.
Add this saute mixture to the stock and cooked beans. Serve with a generous squeeze of lime or lemon and chopped fresh parsley to garnish.
This soup with some bread and butter, will serve 6 hungry people as a main dish and many more as a starter.