Curried Red Lentil Soup With Toasted Coconut Recipe (2024)

"curry powder"?!? Curry powders vary so wildly you might just as well have said-- "throw in whatever spices you'd like." Are you imagining it to be cumin-forward? quite spicy? on the gingery side? My preferred seasonings for red lentils include at least 2 tsp cumin, 1tsp turmeric, 1tsp coriander, 1+ tsp fresh grated ginger, 1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne....and then heat 1 or 2 red peppers, 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds in oil til they pop and add to the well-cooked lentils.

I used chicken stock and a can of coconut milk instead of water. Overall really yummy! Great served with naan.

I used the recipe as a nice base. I added a can of coconut milk, and increased the red lentils to 1.25 cup. I added 2 TBS of tomato paste, and I used Betsy's spice suggestions, 2 tsp cumin, 1tsp turmeric, 1tsp coriander, 1+ tsp fresh grated ginger, 1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne. And I added a few handfuls of chopped kale 5 minutes before serving.

Betsy is concerned because no curry powder was specified. Perhaps that is because you can use any you like, or make your own. I used my Sri Lankan blend in fact, but any curry would work from the old world to the new. Even a ras el hanout blend if you wanted to make it African. Why be limited by the type of curry the author likes?

Second time making in a month... So good. Amped up the flavors a bit with a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste at the garlic/ginger stage (thanks for that idea, someone!), some red pepper flakes with the spices, and then used 1/2 homemade chicken broth, 1/2 vegetable broth + 1/2 can of coconut milk. Dumped in some baby spinach at the end. Filling, flavorful, great lunch leftovers.

Liked this more flavorful version of lentil soup. I didn't like the texture of the toasted coconut in the soup particularly, they were more chewy than crunchy; perhaps toasting it longer would have helped. The cilantro and yogurt provided the perfect topping.

This soup knocked it out of the park for me. Substituted curry powder with garam masala, and my husband and I were lapping it up!

Based on comments, I used 4 c. chicken bone broth, 1 c. coconut milk. Lemon juice at the end instead of lime (had no limes). Upped the seasonings - added cayenne. It was still a bit muddy tasting and no single flavor rang out. Easy and fast but lacking something.

LOVE. I took advice from a lot of commenters—used garam masala as my curry powder, added 2T of tomato paste during Step 1, half a can of coconut milk toward the end. I also adjusted all the seasonings pretty significantly at the end + added a little ground mustard seed. Perfect recipe to make the last few weeks of winter a little more bearable.

Very good. Ate it leftover thinned with coconut milk over rice and roasted cauliflower.

dry lentils - rinsed

I think I actually like this better than Melissa’s red lentil soup. I used generic grocery-store lentils, cooked them almost an hour. With the immersion blender, the soup is creamy and glossy. The add-ons I used were garam masala, red cabbage and parsley as recommended, feta cheese crumbles, and pomegranate seeds. Delicious vegetarian dinner! Watch the added salt if using Better Than Boullion.

Really upped the spices, adding BOTH curry and garam masala, and included a dash of cinnamon along with all the other spices in the recipe. Also added one can of unsweetened coconut milk towards the end and it was delicious. The next day I added cubed ham for an even heartier soup. Fantastic.

Use 4 c. Veggie stock only

I left out the toasted coconut (to avoid the extra fat) and cilantro (my husband can't tolerate cilantro) and served it with plain nonfat Greek yogurt on top. Absolutely delicious!

Made those several times…we love it.Read notes, and a couple of people suggested Garam masala instead of curry powder…. This last time I made it I tried 2 tsp curry and 1 tsp of garam masala. Did not like as much as other times I’ve made this.

Bless you commenters for adding all these tweaks. I followed multiple recommendations of swapping in garam masala for curry powder, coconut milk broth for water, and adding red pepper flakes and cayenne. This soup is lovely, perfect for fall chill.

I added a Murasaki sweet potato, some rice, and a spoonful of brown sugar. The acid from the lime is necessary, IMO. The perfect lentil soup!

Delicious restaurant quality meal. Thanks to notes for ideas! Spice - 3:1 ratio garam masala to curry- plus the other spices. Upped carrots and added a parsnip. Added ground chicken to the mix before stock. Used a 1:1 combo of chicken and veg stock and added coconut milk (used a full can with doubled recipe) plus small can tomato paste. At the end added chopped fresh spinach. Used toppings as described.First time toasted coconut. Let brown for crunch.+ toasted onion kulcha from freezer. YUM!

Commercial curry powders are highly variable; check the ingredient list and adjust the individual spices in the recipe as needed to create a balance you like.

Hi! Thank you for the suggestions to add crushed red pepper and mustard- yum! I cooked with black lentils as that is what I had on hand & added more curry to taste. I skipped the toasted coconut but subsequently served over brown rice accompanied by Birdseye (please don't judge, I'm a working gal) frozen and "fried" cauliflower-- a complete meal. Then again later in the day, I filled some pastry sheets with for popovers... Thanks.

Oh I also changed the spices: like roughly 1 heaping tsp each of curry, cumin, coriander, black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, garam masala, anddddd tumeric? I think that’s it! Good luck! Just do it to taste! Recipes are just a silly framework!

2 garlic cloves, 1tsp ginger2tsp curry powder, 2tsp cumin, 1tsp coriander, 1tsp tumeric, 1/2tsp red pepper flakes3cups chicken stock, 1 can coconut milkPop 1/2tsp of each mustard seed and cumin seed and add at endReally good, lots of flavor

Loved this recipe! I made a few changes and it came out delicious! No dried coconut, just half coconut milk and half vegetable broth; used garam masala bc I didn’t have curry powder; and added the cilantro while it was cooking for the last 5 minutes, chopped tomatoes when it finished cooking, and avocado green onion as garnish

Can of coconut milk instead of flakes, green instead of red lentils.

This soup was spectacular, and I followed the recipe closely (I added smoked paprika to the spice mix). While the soup was melding its magic on the stove, i put together a mix of fresh, chopped rosemary topped with a good glug of EVOO and juice from half a lemon, and let it sit for a while doing its own melding. After putting the soup in bowls, I drizzled the lemon rosemary oil atop. It was a flavor bomb on an already exquisite soup.