Tomato soup with lentils (yellow moong daal) recipe
This vegan, creamy and tangy tomato soup with lentils (yellow moong daal/dal) is quick, easy and full of nutrition! Made with just a few essential pantry ingredients, it’s filling but still perfect for when you want something light or when feeling under the weather.
I have been making this soup for many winters now, but in the beginning it was just a tomato soup, sans lentils. Wanting to make it my go-to soup for times when one of us is under the weather, I added easy to digest plant-based protein, yellow moong (also spelled as mung) daal to make it more wholesome and a complete meal.
Addition of daal (dal/dahl) also gives the soup a creamy consistency and provides a nutty flavor and sweetness to balance the sourness of the tomatoes.
To make this soup, I use a pressure cooker but it can be easily made in a pot or a slow cooker. The first two steps are the same irrespective of the appliance/utensil used, with just a few adjustments in the cooking step.
Steps in detail with pictures
- Rinse and presoak daal
In a bowl, add water to the daal. Wash and drain. Repeat at least 3-4 times till water runs clear.
Presoak in fresh water (up to 1-2cm over the daal) for half an hour. It’s ok to presoak for longer too. As daal absorbs water during presoaking, it will slightly increase in size.
As per Ayurveda (translated as ‘knowledge of life’; an Indian system that covers physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being), presoaking is considered important as it makes the daal easier to digest. It also reduces cooking time. However, it is not essential to presoak and you can skip this step. In that case, the cooking time will increase and will need to be adjusted to make sure the daal is cooked.
- Prepare the ingredients
Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. Roughly slice the onions, halve and then quarter the tomatoes, peel and slice the carrot (approximately 1cm thick) and roughly chop the ginger.
- Cook
Using a pressure cooker
On a medium flame, heat oil in the pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds, cloves and peppercorns. Sizzle for 5-10 seconds, taking care not to burn the seeds and spices.
Add sliced onions and sauté for 30-45 seconds.
Add the ginger, tomatoes and carrot. Add the salt and water.
Finally, drain daal and add.
Close the lid and cook on high flame till the first whistle (Some pressure cookers whistle while releasing steam. If you have one that doesn’t whistle, then cook as per the required settings). After the first whistle, immediately reduce the flame to low and switch off the gas after 5-6 minutes. Let the steam release on its own and then open the lid.
Using a pot
On a medium flame, heat oil in a large pot. Add cumin seeds, cloves and peppercorns. Sizzle for 5-10 seconds, taking care not to burn the seeds and spices.
Add sliced onions and sauté for 30-45 seconds. Add the ginger, tomatoes and carrot. Add the salt and water. Finally, drain daal and add. Bring to a boil and then reduce the flame to low. Cover and simmer till daal is cooked. Daal is cooked when it is soft and mushy when pressed. Stir in between. Switch off the gas once done.
- Blend & serve
Remove from heat and blend till smooth.
If using a countertop blender, let the soup cool down before blending it. If needed, add hot water to adjust the consistency and bring to a boil again. Taste and add salt if required. Garnish and serve hot. This soup goes well with garlic bread or a cheese toastie.
Suggestions
- If you don’t have moong daal, you could use masoor daal (split red lentils) instead.
- You can also add ½ cup cut pumpkin, beetroot or a small potato (peeled and cut) instead of a carrot.
If you tried this recipe, let me know by leaving a comment below and rating it. Please share the link on Facebook or Pinterest. For Instagram, mention @vegbyswati or tag #vegbyswati
Tomato soup with lentils (yellow moong daal)
Equipment
- Pressure cooker/Instant Pot or Pot
- Blender
Ingredients
- ½ cup yellow moong daal, washed, presoaked (half an hour) and drained
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2-3 whole cloves
- 5-6 black peppercorns
- 1 small onion, roughly sliced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, roughly chopped
- 4 medium-large ripe tomatoes (total 600gms), halved and quartered
- 1 carrot peeled and roughly sliced
- 2 tsp salt or as per taste
- 1 ¾ cups water
- Garnish
- Fresh herbs of your choice coriander/parsley/basil
- Crushed pepper as per taste
Instructions
- In a bowl, add water to the daal. Wash and drain. Repeat at least 3-4 times till water runs clear.
- Presoak in fresh water (up to 1-2cm over the daal) for half an hour.
- Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. Roughly slice the onions, halve and then quarter the tomatoes, peel and slice the carrot (approximately 1cm thick) and roughly chop the ginger.
- On a medium flame, heat oil in the pressure cooker (Refer to notes for cooking in a pot).
- Add cumin seeds, cloves and black peppercorns. Sizzle for 5-10 seconds, taking care not to burn the seeds and spices.
- Add onion and sauté for 30-45 seconds.
- Add the ginger, tomatoes, carrot, salt and water.
- Drain the daal/lentils and add.
- Close the lid and cook on high flame till the first whistle. After the first whistle, immediately reduce the flame to low and switch off the gas after 5-6 minutes. Let the steam release on its own and then open the lid.
- Remove from heat and blend till smooth. If needed, add hot water to adjust the consistency and bring to a boil.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if required. Ladle in bowls, garnish and serve hot.
Video
Notes
- Perfect as a main meal for a family of 4 or serves 6 as a starter.
- 1 cup=250ml
- Calories information is approximate, calculated using online Recipe Calorie & Nutrition Calculator. Calories are calculated for 4 servings.
- On a medium flame, heat oil in a large pot. Add cumin seeds, cloves and peppercorns. Sizzle for 5-10 seconds, taking care not to burn the seeds and spices.
- Add sliced onions and sauté for 30-45 seconds.
- Add the ginger, tomatoes, carrot, salt and water.
- Drain the daal and add. Bring to a boil and then reduce the flame to low. Cover and simmer till daal is cooked, soft and mushy when pressed. Stir in between. Switch off the gas once done.
- Once done, blend till smooth. If needed, add hot water to adjust consistency and bring to a boil. Taste and adjust seasoning if required. Ladle in bowls, garnish and serve hot.
Loved the lentil twist to the tomato soup! Easy and Nutritious!
Thank you so much for the recipe, made this soup last night and this has become my new favorite soup. Only change I make is to add a little Hing(asafetida).
Thank you Dimple, glad to know you liked the soup.