my recipe for fast Indian lentil soup

[Hild e gard]

This is a basic recipe. It is best to use red lentils like are available in Indian supply stores. Otherwise you have to cook green lentil longer.

In a pot on medium heat, put some oil, cumin seeds and mustard seeds.

When the seeds pop, turn down the heat a little, put in some chopped onions, some salt, some curry spice and some turmeric. Also a little bit of tomato paste is good or one chopped tomato.

When the onion is a little bit cooked, put in two and a half cups of water. Raise the heat until it boils.

Turn down the heat to low, put in one cup of red lentils, cover the pot and let cook for 25 to 30 minutes.

to serve, you can put a little bit of yogurt on top, and garnish with parsley or dill. That's all.

There are many things you can do with this recipe. You can add any chopped vegetable at the end and stir it in -- carrots, corn, brocolli, cauliflower, leeks.

Also, if you put different kinds of curry spice in the oil at the beginning, it will have different flavor. There are many different kinds available, like the common ones of tandoori, garam masala, and the ones just labeled "curry". But there are many kinds.