Introduction to being a Dervish: Lentil Soup

'Boil me some more 

Hit me with the skimming spoon 

I can't do this myself!' 

Rumi

To deny Lentils their rightful place.. could let us enter a theological debate akin to the dispute of sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:34).... I mean.. lentils pre-date pottery! They solve the entire chicken egg situation...   (which I will blog about later.. but just to highlight that Chickens natural habitat is the Jungle. Very few places on earth are Jungle. and More recently, very few Jungles have chickens)... I digress!! For some, lentils are symbolic for the cyclical nature of life, we could call this Karma, for others, lentils are stable food that provide the body with just what it needs... 

There isn't a food more Dervish than Lentils.... full of goodness and simplicity.... and maybe its the reason that Esau was able to bring himself to sit, and eat from Jacob's Lentil Stew..

Even in the Quran (2:61) the people of Moses demanded that Moses call upon his Lord 'to bring forth for us from the earth its green herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its onions'

'فَادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُخْرِجْ لَنَا مِمَّا تُنبِتُ الأَرْضُ مِن بَقْلِهَا وَقِثَّآئِهَا وَفُومِهَا وَعَدَسِهَا وَبَصَلِهَا'

So.. really... Lentils are kind of epic.... and have been in demand for some time now! Even the Great Saint and spiritual Master, Sheikh Nazim Al Haqqani, was ordered into seclusion and he recounted that 'I was in seclusion for forty days ... doing sulook, spiritual discipline... Everyday that one brought me what I needed. He brought bread with lentil soup'  (Sheikh Nazim, 2011). 

Pretty much everywhere I have travelled, Lentil Soup has existed, call it Dahl, lentejas, Paripu, Linsen.. and actually I remember one year.... growing up, as a lesson to us all (huge family with lots of siblings) my parents fed us Lentils for 6 months straight. Partly due to financial reasons, partly because it was so easy to cook (I now realise!)... however, I am almost thirty... and it has taken this long for me to even consider learning how to cook them...

So when my wonderful Dervish of a husband suggested Lentils as a substitute for my meat crazy, steak hungry diet... which also coincidently, at times was reflected in my nervous, angry, stressed out demeanour.. the first stage was sulking... the second was research... and the the third was some serious action :)

In terms of research, I always start with 'the best... e.g. lentil soup' or in this case... 'the 10 best ways to cook lentils'... the Guardian no less was my saviour and more specifically Nathan Williams (2013). However, Sarah Britton (2009) may claim the copyright of this soup... and its' name! (I promise I am trying not to get involved!!). As you all may be aware I lost my recipe book, and 'Four Corners' was the only bit that I remembered from the first ever Lentil Stew that I made for my husband.. appropriately named due to how far and wide Lentils are enjoyed... and now I realise, that stew or soup, the recipes are exactly the same... all you change is the quantity of water.... 

Both delicious and simple. The stew and the soup. The Britton and the Williams. Chicken and Egg. Here we go!

Tips!

My adaptations to the recipe as I find it the easiest way to remember that we dont always have everything at hand, everything can be done slightly differently, and there are some things, that just can never be left out!

- This is a great to make to use left overs from the Mexican tortila party you had the night before.. onions, lemons, tomatoes, salt, beans all come together deliciously here!

-  Instead of coconut oil or ghee, I used olive oil, I am italian, I cant help it!

- Onions chopped fine or coarse; it doesn't matter, I once used roasted onions

- If you can choose to use a garlic crusher, or buy one, do! They are a time-saving marvel, I once thought these were a luxury in a kitchen, I now know these are absolutely essential!

- I almost always have to exchange fresh ginger for powered as fresh ginger is  not available to hand.. this recipe is still delicious with 1 tbsp of ground ginger 

- Cumin as a spice is God sent... it helps reduce any indigestion the lentils might give you... I now stock this very well in my cupboard and use as a garnish on many things too

- A tin of tomatoes is jut as good as fresh tomatoes in this recipe.. and at an extreme push, when I have had neither, 1 tbsp of tomato paste has cheekily replaced the fresh product 

- Although lemons do grow where I live, they only grow in winter, so, an alternative could be vinegar (vinegar and lentils is common in some German cooking), or alternatively, bottled lemon juice... however it is to note that lemons are an essential part of this soup!

-  In addition to the suggested garnishes I have made some delicious homemade yogurt balls that also garnish this really well... the recipe will be coming soon!

- For the stew recipe, I have suggested a rice of your own... and included this in the steps the original recipe called for brown rice.. however I have had this stew with basmati, bulgur, and brown and they are all delicious... need some tips on simple easy rice recipes? Click Here

Enjoy!

Four corners Lentil Stew Or Soup!

Serves 4

- 2 tbsp coconut oil or ghee 

- 1 large onion or a couple of leeks chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp ground cumin 
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- Four large tomatoes, chopped
- 1 lemon, sliced into rounds 
- 700ml stock for the stew (4 cups) and 1 litre for the soup (around 5 cups)
- 1 cup red lentils (or between 150g and 185g)
- Chopped coriander, spring onions or parsley to garnish
- Salt to taste
- A rice of your choice, bulgar, basmati or brown

Instructions:

1 Begin preparing your rice and put it to broil

2 Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. 

3 Add the onion and salt, then cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, or until soft and translucent. 

4 Add the garlic, ginger, cumin and cayenne, and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. 

5 Stir in the tomatoes, three lemon slices, the stock and the lentils. 

6 If making stew, remove the rice from the heat, cover it to rest for 10 minutes, then fluff it with a fork.

7 Bring the lentils to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until tender.

8 Squeeze the remaining lemon slices over the stew or and season.

9 Serve the stew over the sesame rice

9 Sprinkle the soup or stew with the garnish - Parsley, coriander or my homemade yoghurt balls!

 Let me know how it was!!

http://www.jewishjournal.com/torah_portion/article/lentil_soup_20081126/

http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2009/10/reader-request-my-favorite-recipe-four-corners-lentil-soup-2/

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4338/2

http://www.sufismus-online.de/SeclusionAtAbdulQadirJilani

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/11/the-10-best-lentil-recipes

http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9781579655327