Ayurvedic Cleanse - Dinner - Carrot & Moong Dal Soup

Ingredients: 

½ cup/100g whole moong dal (mung beans)

4 cups/1 litres water

2 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

3 whole cardamom pods (peeled and seeds crushed)

Toast the seeds

½ heaped tsp cumin seeds

½ heaped tsp whole coriander seeds

handful fresh coriander, chopped

1 Tblsp finely chopped ginger

For the voggarane:

1 Tblsp ghee/oil

1 dried chilli, torn in half

6 fresh curry leaves, optional

Pinch of asafoetida powder, optional

½ - 1 tsp fine rock salt

½ - 1 tsp jaggery

1 Tblsp finely chopped fresh ginger

¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

2 Tblsp fresh lemon juice, or more to taste

To Serve:

Ghee

Rice/Quinoa

Freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Peel and chop the carrots. Set aside.

Wash the moong dal in a bowl, swishing the grains in several changes of water until it runs clear. Combine the moong dal, carrot, water and cardamom pods in a medium soup pot and bring to boil. Reduce to a rapid simmer, partly cover and cook until the dal has broken down and is soft; anywhere from 30 - 40 minutes.

While waiting for the dal to soften, toast and grind the seeds.

Toast the seeds:

In a small pan over moderate heat, dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds until golden and deeply fragrant. Place in a mortar and pestle, and grind into a rough powder. 

When the dal has softened, add the ground cumin & coriander to the pot, with the fresh coriander leaves and ginger. Cover and set aside.

For the voggarane:

Warm ghee/oil in a small pan, add the chilli pieces, fresh curry leaves and asafoetida powder, fry for thirty seconds, remove from heat and pour into the soup. 

To finish, season with salt, jaggery, ground pepper and the juice of half a lemon. Taste adding more salt, pepper or lemon. I find the lemon juice and freshly ground pepper bring this soup together, so you may want to add more. 

Serve with a spoon of quinoa or rice in each bowl of soup, drizzle with ghee and a few rounds of freshly ground pepper.

Suggestions:

Soak the dal in the morning for a quicker evening preparation.

Variations:

For a lighter soup, replace the whole moong dal with split moong dal.

If you are not cleansing, add a finely chopped small roma tomato to the soup with the carrots.

Find more Ayurvedic Cleanse tips and recipes here.