Vegetable and Lentil Soup for the Busy Family

5 Vegetable and one or two pulses soup with ground nuts and indian spices

Dear Readers : I have written a recipe below for this soup. I have had this soup from time to time since 2011. This is good for a busy family which is worried about the volume of weekly vegetable intake. I recommend 5 servings of vegetables 3 servings of grain sprouts and 2 servings of fruits daily per person for rapid improvement of overall health. The vegetables and fruits should be from nutrition dense pesticide free soils for the result to be significant.

Ingredients : Any 5 vegetables — In this case i have used palak, carrot, beans, cauliflower and some potatoes. One cup of soaked lentils (any whole lentil or legume). Any 5 veggies can be used preferably with multiple colors. Different whole lentils and whole pulses can be used.

Boil all of them including pre-soaked overnight whole lentil in a good vessel with less water. Do not let nutrition escape through water. Pressure cooker is not recommended. Grind all of them to a puree (100–200 gms of each of 5 vegetables + one or two lentils is needed. — depends on how many people will eat this soup).

Take a tawa, add 5 teaspoons of extra virgin coconut oil and sputter mustard and jeera. Add peanuts (or crushed walnuts or almonds) for added protein and then in the hot oil add i teaspoon of sambhar powder or spicy masala powder and half teaspoon of turmeric and half teaspoon of fine ground fresh ginger paste (anti-cancer). Before the spices turn black add quickly to the pureed vegetable lentil paste and add 2 cups of water and bring to boil in a closed vessel after adding needed salt. taste and adjust salt as needed.

A hearty soup is ready. Crushed nuts add a nutty taste to the dish. This can be had 3 times a day after warming it. Along with the soup have a salad of fresh vegetables chopped up such as cabbage, half boiled broccoli, carrots, boiled beets. lettuce chopped up and cucumber slices. Also, if you are not vegan you can have a cup of yogurt. After a diet like this for 1 month with rice or chappathi allowed only once a week, your body and mind will function much better. Thank you for reading — Shankar — Lead Farmer — Mapletree farm.

Mapletree farm vegetables are nutrition dense unlike the so called organic vegetables sold in Bangalore. The soil where your food is grown is what matters. -Shankar@ Mapletree