Here’s a vegan recipe taken from the book “Vegetarian Dishes from the Middle East” by Arto der Haroutunian. He says it’s a popular Syrian soup that is also eaten by Turks and Armenians. You can use burghul instead of rice. Of course, you can add any seasonings you like to the recipe if you want added heat or spice. I added my tandoori masala mix taken from a cookery book that I have, can’t remember which, unfortunately (probably the “Balti Cookbook” by Pat Chapman). It turned out more of an Indian soup for me (probably because I was listening to “The Greatest Bollywood Hits” at the time) and it was delicious. I needed to add a bit more salt than stated below. The great thing about this recipe is that you’ve probably got all the ingredients for the soup in your pantry.
This recipe serves 4-6.
Ingredients/Procedure:
Mince 1 onion in the TMX 3s/speed 5. Add 4 tbsp olive oil and fry 2m/varoma/speed 1. Add 75g long-grain rice that has been washed thoroughly under cold water and then drained. Fry the rice 2m/varoma/speed 1. Add 1.8 litres water, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of ground cloves (or your choice of spices). Simmer 5m/100C/speed 1. Add 175g red lentils and cook 15-20m/100C/soft stir until the rice and lentils are tender but not mushy. Cooking time depends on the quality of the lentils.
Garnish with a pinch of cayenne pepper and serve immediately. My lentils seemed to dissolve even though the rice was tender. The soup still tasted good. I placed a few lemon slices in my soup because it reminded me of the mulligatawny soup that I used to love to eat as a child at the local Tandoori Palace in Rayleigh. Shame you can’t get Bombay Duck anymore. Loved that stuff.
