Lentil Soup Recipe

Thursday, March 7, 2024

“A recipe has no soul. You as the cook must bring soul to the recipe.”

Ramadan is the first pillar of Islam and forms one of the foundations of a Muslim's faith and practice. It is a personal and communal duty for adult Muslims to fast during the month of Ramadan. The termination of Ramadan is marked by the holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which means "the feast of breaking the fast". This is an incredibly important time for Muslims, as it is a festival which celebrates the achievement of the focused discipline and spiritual growth, as well as serving as an opportunity to give thanks to Allah for providing the strength and endurance to complete the fasting period. A very common dish with which this fast is broken is by a very simple yet delicious Lentil soup.

Let's start with the ingredients. To cook lentil soup, you will need 200 grams of red lentils, two liters of vegetable or meat stock, 100 milliliters of olive oil, two medium onions, three large tomatoes, one small carrot, one teaspoon of dried mint, and one teaspoon of paprika. You could also add one lemon and some fresh parsley into it. To start off we should put the red lentils to a sieve and wash them under running water. Then we get rid of the extra water and leave it at room temperature. Next we should peel and chop the onions, and peel and slice the carrot. After that, the skin of the tomatoes should be taken off. The best way to do this is to make a cross cut on the top of the tomatoes and place them into a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Then we should wait for a while, once the skin starts to open a little bit it means it's ready to be peeled. We should leave the peeled tomatoes aside and start frying the chopped onions and carrots in the olive oil, we then add the sliced tomatoes into it. When the tomatoes get a bit softer, we shall add the teaspoon of paprika, keep on stirring and lastly add the dried mint. Further, add some washed lentils into the frying pan and pour the stock over it. After mixing them properly, cover the lid and leave it to simmer for 20 minutes. Last but not least, the mouthwatering lentil soup can be served with a slice of lemon and some parsley on it.

For Muslims, fasting is not just about an empty stomach. It is also about an inner emptiness, where one detaches themselves from worldly desires and cleanses the soul - a process which is greatly aided by increasing the amount of worship and prayer undertaken. Such delicious dishes are a few means which could potentially lead to the entire period of Ramadan to be an exciting period.