Split Pea Soup with Indian Flavours

This split pea soup recipe comes from the "contemporary curries" chapter of Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries. The recipes in this section include fusion dishes from various regions -- Anglo-Indian mulligatawny, Indo-Chinese Hakka noodles, etc. -- as well as many of Iyer's own unique creations. This soup appears to be one of the latter.

I enjoyed this soup served over some leftover gatte ki tehri. It went with the dumplings particularly well. That said, I think I'd probably tweak it's not one of my favourites and I think I'd probably tweak it a bit next time. I'd like to try substituting flavourful ghee for the more neutral canola oil. I'd I think it'd also be interesting to swap out the dairy tang of yogurt with the citrus tang of lime + a bit of coconut milk. Hmm... or maybe even just leave out the dairy/coconut milk altogether and add a swirl of yogurt on top of each serving... That could be nice! I'd also be tempted to toss a few more veggies in with the peas. And to chop the tomato smaller and forgo the puréeing step at the end. I know that's a lot of changes. It's basically a whole different soup at that point. But sometimes that's what cooking is all about. Sometimes you find a recipe you really like, sometimes it's a flop, and sometimes you find something that has the potential to become something you really like.

Indian Split Pea Soup

Adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 onions, 1 chopped, 1 halved and sliced thin
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 c. yellow split peas (chana dal), rinsed and picked over
• 4 1/2 c. water, divided
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2 (5cm x 2.5cm x 3mm) pieces of fresh ginger, chopped
• 2 fresh green Thai or cayenne chilies, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• juice of 1 lime

To Serve

• 1/2 c. plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 6 Papads, toasted and crushed
• 1/4 c. Fried Onion

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the carrot, celery, chopped onion, and garlic and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
3. Add 1/4 tsp. of salt as well as the pepper and split peas.
4. Add 4 c. of water and bring to a boil.
5. Skim off any foam, reduce heat, cook, covered, stirring occasionally for 25 minutes.
6. Meanwhile heat ghee over medium-high heat.
7. Add cumin seeds and sizzle for 15-20 seconds.
8. Add sliced onion, ginger, and chilies and stir-fry for ~5 minutes.
9. Reduce heat to medium and cook for another 5 minutes.
10. Add turmeric, tomato, remaining 1/2 c. of water, and remaining 1/2 tsp. of salt.
11. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tomato is cooked and sauce-like (~5 minutes).
12. Add the tomato mixture to the peas and cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for another 15-20 minutes.
13. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice.
14. Serve topped with yogurt, cilantro, crushed papads, and fried onion.