Toor Dal Soup

Oh, yellow split peas! They are cheery, miniature suns. It makes me smile just to look at them. Yellow split peas, otherwise known as toor dal, is the one food that reminds me exclusively of the home and life Z. and I have created together. I think this has to do that all my memories of toor dal involve Z. and sharing a meal with him. Well, until this soup, he has made all every meal that has involved toor dal. It's not that I'm lazy or not trying, Z. really likes to cook Indian food and is really good at it.

I am on vacation for the week so I thought I should make myself a pot of soup that could be my lunch for a few days. I was looking through my the soup edition of Cook's Illustrated for inspiration. I thought their Creamy Split Pea sounded yummy (I would never have thought of adding lettuce to a soup!) but there weren't green split peas in the pantry and I didn't have butter lettuce. There were yellow split peas, though! I used Z.'s dal as a jumping board and played with the spices. I thought it turned out very good! The sweetness of the toor dal balanced nicely with the cutting spiciness of the Serrano and savoriness of the garam masala.

A few notes on this soup:

• This soup took some time to make. The onions take awhile, the dal has to simmer for about 45 minutes, and then allowing it to cool enough to put in a blender or food processor takes time, as well,  but is worth it.
• I used two cups of toor dal. This is a lot compared to the amount Z. uses in our dal. For the same amount of soup, I am pretty sure 1 1/2 cups of dal would work just great. 
• Don't bother using stock or broth! Save that for another time. Water works just fine for this.
• Cook the onions until they are very brown. Z. has played around a lot with how much he cooks the onions in his dishes. We have found, the browner the onion, the tastier the dish. Getting the onions really brown can take awhile. I think my onions cooked for about 20 minutes before they were the color I wanted.
• Because I blended the soup, using whole spices wasn't a problem at all.
• Dal freezes very nicely. We have found that when possible, we like to freeze our leftovers in a ziploc freezer bag and flatten it out so you can stack multiple bags on top of each other. 

Leftovers ready to be put in the freezer.

Toor Dal Soup or Yellow Split Pea Soup
Canola oil
1 1/2 -2 cups yellow split peas
8-10 cups water, more as needed
1 onion, chopped finely
1 Serrano chile, finely mined
1 inch ginger root, finely minced or grated
4-5 cloves garlic (or to taste), finely mined or grated
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin or cumin seeds
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon coriander seeds or ground coriander

1. Look through split peas and remove any stones or any other debris.
2. Heat one tablespoon canola oil in large soup pot over medium heat, add onions, cook until browned, stirring occasionally.
3. Add Serrano chile and ginger. Cook about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Turn down heat slightly. Add more canola oil if needed. Add garlic and cook for about 3-5 minutes, until garlic is cooked.
5. Have some of the water ready to add to the pan. Add spices to the vegetables and mix thoroughly. Do not leave the pot. Toast spices for about 30 seconds then pour in water. 
6. Add the rest of the water and yellow split peas. Bring to a boil then lower heat and let simmer gently for about 45 minutes, until the split peas are spot.
7. Be very careful when blending warm food in a blender or food processor. Let yellow split pea and vegetable mixture cool slightly. In batches, process soup in a blender or food processor. Add 1/2 cup of water at a time if needed. Return blended soup to a pot and reheat gently over medium low heat. Serve and enjoy!

Price Breakdown

.03 canola oil (purchased on sale with coupons)
.46 yellow split peas  (.52/lb)
.15 onion (.33/lb)
.04 Serrano chile
.14 ginger
.10 garlic
.15 spices (purchased in large quantities from the local Indian market)

Total: $1.07 or $0.18 per bowl