Spicy Red Lentil and Pineapple Soup

5 from 1 vote

Spicy red lentil and pineapple will energize you with creamy lentils, sweet-sour pineapple, and an Indian spice blend for tasty vegan lentil dahl.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 259kcal

2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
4 small dried red chilis we like our soup on the hot side, so adjust accordingly
4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
1 teaspoon ginger minced
1 medium lime zest
1 ½ cups split red lentils rinsed
4 cups vegetable broth
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon salt optional if your vegetable broth contains salt
1 medium fresh pineapple 4 ½ - 5 cups cubes, see notes
4 medium tomatoes diced, or 1 can diced tomatoes
1 ½ cups vegetable broth

In a medium soup pot, add the lentils, vegetable broth, turmeric, and salt. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer. Cook, uncovered until the lentils are tender (15-20 minutes).
Toast the whole spices, chilies, garlic, ginger, and lime zest in a small frying pan or skillet over medium heat. Stir the ingredients for 1-2 minutes.
Transfer the spices to a clean spice or coffee grinder. Grind to a fine powder.
Cut the pineapple into bite-sized chunks. Add half the pineapple and tomatoes to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
Once the lentils are done, add the blended spices, the pineapple-tomato mixture, and 1 ½ cups of vegetable broth. Stir the soup and allow it to simmer on low for a few minutes until it thickens up.
Mix in the remaining pineapple chunks and give them a few minutes to heat and absorb the flavors. Remove the soup from the heat.
Taste the soup and add lime juice if it's too sweet.

See my guide in the post for substituting ground for whole spices. Don't toast the ground spices. Add them to the tempering when you grind it.
To cut fresh pineapple, first, use a knife to cut off the top and bottom of the fresh fruit. Next, quarter the pineapple lengthwise and cut out the core of each section. Cut the quarters in half lengthwise so that you end up with 8 pieces. Then cut the fruit away from the skin of each piece and dice the fruit.
Substitute canned pineapple packed in water or juice for fresh pineapple. A medium fresh pineapple will yield about 6-8 cups, about 2 regular cans of diced pineapple. Add the liquid and ⅓ of the canned pineapple chunks to the tomatoes for the puree. Use the rest of the pineapple for the soup at the end of cooking.
Store pineapple soup in an airtight container for 5 days or freeze for 3 months.