Instant Pot Curried Lentil Soup
Curried red lentil soup with tomatoes, garlic, ginger, and coconut milk, made in the Instant Pot, and ready in 30 minutes. Lightly adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi's recipe on Epicurious.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 214kcal
Equipment
- Chef's knife
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste, or finely chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste, or 2 ½-inch piece of ginger, finely grated
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala spice mix (see Notes)
- ½ teaspoon red curry paste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ cup red lentils
- 1 14.5-oz can chopped tomatoes, along with the sauce
- 2 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 13.5-oz can unsweetened coconut milk
Optional Toppings
- lime wedges, for serving
- ¼ cup chopped scallions, for garnish
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Select the Sauté function on your Instant Pot (or other electric pressure cooker). In the inner cooking pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and sauté until softened and translucent, about 7 - 8 minutes. Be sure to stir them fairly often so they don't burn.
- Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder, garam masala, red curry paste, salt, red pepper flakes and pepper. Stir and sauté for about 3 minutes, until very fragrant.
- Stir in the lentils and tomato sauce, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the broth. Set aside ¼ cup of the coconut milk, and add the remaining coconut milk to the pot. Stir to combine. Pro-tip: If the coconut milk has separated in the can, pour it into a large bowl and whisk until re-combined.
- Lock the lid of the electric pressure cooker into place, making sure that the vent on top of the Instant Pot is in the closed position. Select Manual cooking and set the cooking time for 15 minutes.
- When the cooking is complete, Quick Release the vent to immediately release the pressure.
- Serve with the reserved coconut milk (to drizzle on top of the soup), scallions and lime wedges.
Notes
Garam Masala is a spice mix commonly used in many Indian dishes. It's commonly made up of black and white peppers, cinnamon, cardamon, cloves and cumin, but there are many variations. You can make your own, or purchase it in the spice aisle at your market like I do.
If you use Better Than Bouillion, eliminate the kosher salt as you will not need any additional salt. I recommend no more than 2 teaspoons of Better Than Bouillion, Roasted Vegetable Paste.
Nutrition
Calories: 214kcal | Carbohydrates: 27.7g | Protein: 9.7g | Fat: 7.7g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.6g | Sodium: 888.1mg | Potassium: 428.4mg | Fiber: 11.7g | Sugar: 3.4g | Vitamin A: 608IU | Vitamin C: 6.4mg | Calcium: 46.6mg | Iron: 3.3mg