Traditional South Indian Split Pigeon Pea Soup Recipes

INDIAN SPICED PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the ghee or oil in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and saute the onion and garlic for 5 minutes, until soft and lightly brown.
• Add potato, ginger, cumin, and coriander - stir well. Continue cooking gently over low heat for a few minutes, stirring until the potatoes are covered with the spices.
• Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add peas and chili, salt and pepper. Continue cooking for 5 minutes over low heat.
• Blend soup with a hand blender (or regular blender or food processor) until smooth and return to the pan. Place over low heat and stir in cream. Serve hot.

TRADITIONAL SOUTH INDIAN SPLIT PIGEON PEA SOUP

Steps:

• 1. Soak the dal in 1 cup water until it absorbs the water and softens slightly, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the tamarind paste. Then, transfer the dal to a medium saucepan, add the ginger, green chili pepper, turmeric, salt and another cup of water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, watching carefully and stirring, until the dal is very soft, about 30 minutes.2. In another saucepan, mix together the tomatoes, tamarind, asafoetida, and the remaining water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and simmer until the tomatoes are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the cooked dal mixture, adding more water if you prefer a thinner soup, and bring to a boil once again. Transfer to a serving bowl.3. Heat the oil (or ghee) in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and add the red chili peppers and the mustard and cumin seeds they should splutter upon contact with the hot oil, so cover the pan until the spluttering subsides. Add the curry leaves and cilantro and stir 1 minute. Transfer to the soup. Mix well and serve.From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

* SOUPS

Steps:

• BASIC BROTHS Vegetarian Broth Spicy Chicken Broth Spicy Lamb BrothTOMATO SOUPS Creamy Tomato Soup Tomato Soup with Fresh Curry Leaves Tomato Soup with Sautéed Vegetables Tomato Soup with Yellow Mung BeansSOUTH INDIAN SOUPS (Rasam) Traditional South Indian Split Pigeon Pea Soup Classic South Indian Ginger Soup South Indian Tamarind Soup South Indian Lemon Soup with Mung Beans South Indian Buttermilk Soup Mysore Coconut Soup Chunky South Indian Tomato Soup Spicy South Indian Vegetable Soup with Tamarind Mulligatawny SoupBEAN AND LENTIL SOUPS Yellow Mung Bean and Spinach Soup with Sizzling Cumin Oil Quick Sindhi Split Pigeon Pea Soup with Tamarind Quick Lentil, Barley, and Vegetable Soup Fast Black Bean Soup, Indian Style Chilled Chickpea Soup Chickpea Soup with Chicken Broth Quick Black Chickpea Soup with Cumin SeedsVEGETABLE SOUPS Goan Caldo-Verde Soup with Cauliflower Cabbage Soup with Vegetables Quick Puréed Root Vegetable Soup Chilled Potato Soup Carrot-Ginger Soup Curried Green Pea Soup Puréed Pumpkin Soup Puréed Spinach SoupYOGURT SOUPS Fragrant Yogurt Soup Creamy Almond-Poppy Seed Soup Yogurt Soup with Flame-Roasted Eggplant Puréed Mushroom Soup with Yogurt Spinach Yogurt Soup Vegetable Soup with Yogurt and Coconut Chilled Roasted Vegetable SoupFISH AND CHICKEN SOUPS Goan Shrimp Soup Spicy Shrimp Soup with Coconut Milk and Tomato Chicken Soup with Ginger and Coconut Milk Cashew Corn Soup in Chicken Broth Chicken Soup with Cream-Style Corn and Green Chile Peppers Chicken Soup with Chayote SquashFrom "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TOOR DAL (SPLIT YELLOW PIGEON PEAS)

Steps:

• Prepare the dal: Soak the pigeon peas in a large bowl of warm water for about 1 hour. (They will have swelled a little.) Thoroughly rinse the soaked pigeon peas with fresh water, then tip the drained pigeon peas into a pot.
• Add tomatoes, turmeric, salt and 5 cups water, and bring to a boil over high. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until very tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Use an immersion blender to purée some of the dal, leaving some intact and getting some very smooth, or whisk vigorously to break up some of the soft dal. Stir in the peanuts and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the dal is very tender, about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust with salt. If the dal has become too thick for your liking, stir in a splash of water.
• Prepare the tempering: In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the ghee. When hot, carefully add all of the tempering ingredients (the mustard seeds will sputter!) and swirl the pan until you can smell all the toasted spices, about 30 seconds. Pour everything over the hot dal.