Cozy, comforting, and full of warming spices, this carrot soup packs a punch! The flavors of warm sweet curry, coconut and cilantro (coriander) are amazing with the smooth and creamy lentil and carrot base. Make it as mild or spicy as you like!
This recipe was created when I had an abundance of carrots (they were on sale at 15p for a big bag at Christmas, so you better believe I overbought) annnnd I was quickly losing enthusiasm for them. So that’s where my head was at. I wasn’t looking for something too carroty, for lack of a better word, just a really tasty home for the carrots.
And this soup is where we landed. Lots of carrots are in there to help form the base and bring some sweetness, but flavor wise they mostly fade into the background. This soup is all about the coconut curry flavor, so if you love dal and lentil curries, it will be right up your street!
The recipe is based on my popular Sweet Potato, Lentil & Coconut Soup, sticking to the magic trio of sweet root vegetables, lentils and coconut cream (or coconut milk). But this version leans more decisively towards curry flavors, with lots of curry powder and garam masala, and can be made a little spicy if you wish.
What to Know About Your Ingredients & Substitutions
- Carrots: Feel free to use sweet potato or squash if you prefer, or even mix them up. Feel free to use a little more or less than the recipe states, you can’t go too wrong here.
- Red lentils are the only lentils that will give the the super smooth, creamy finish we’re going for so don’t swap them for anything else.
- I love coconut cream here, with it being thicker and more concentrated than coconut milk, but don’t worry if you can’t find it. You can use regular canned coconut milk instead. When you open the can, see if it’s separated into thicker bits and watery bits, and if so, measure out more of the thicker bits if you can. Also, while coconut cream tends to come in smaller cans or boxes that are around 1 cup, coconut milk tends to come in 14oz / 400g cans, so using 1 cup would leave you with leftovers. If you want to avoid that, go ahead and use the whole can. You can just reduce the veggie stock to account for the extra liquid, or don’t even bother and let the soup be a little thinner, no biggie.
- Your choice of curry powder will dictate whether this ends up spicy or not. I go for a mild one, but if you want your soup to have a little (or a lot) of heat, choose accordingly. You can also increase the heat by adding some chili powder if you wish.
- It is worth noting that your choice of veggie stock will have an impact on the resulting color of the soup. I made this once with Oxo cubes, which come out very dark, and it was delicious but very muddy colored. With Knorr cubes (which have a lighter yellow hue) it was brighter. Not a huge deal unless you are serving it to guests (or photographing it for a blog post š) but I thought it worth mentioning.
TIP: You can increase the spice quantities in this recipe if you want something extra punchy for dinner
This recipe calls for 2 teaspoons each of curry powder and garam masala. And this quantity gives you a very tasty soup. There is a good sweet curry flavor, but it is gentle enough for the carrot flavor to slightly peep through (though still not what I’d call “carroty”).
I thought it worth mentioning that I also tried it with 3 teaspoons each of curry powder and garam masala and I did really like that too. It was very strong, more like a pureed dal or coconut curry, and it eclipsed the carrot flavor completely. While I feel like most people want something just a bit more subtle in a soup (especially when it’s for lunch time), it’s worth considering adding the extra amounts if you’d like a super flavorful dinner option. If you make it that way, trying serving it with a swirl of yogurt or coconut yogurt for cooling balance.
Serving Suggestions
- I love to use naan bread for dipping, but normal bread rolls / baguettes work well too.
- If you have more time to create the perfect dipping option, these chili cheese toasts would be amazing.
- My ideal salad pairing would be this Paneer, Tomato & Pomegranate Salad.
Ideas to use up the bag of red lentils…
Curried Carrot & Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- coconut or olive oil, for cooking
- 1 white or brown onion, diced
- 12 oz (340 g) carrots, peeled and chopped, a little more or less is fine
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp ginger, chopped
- 2 teaspoons curry powder, see notes
- 2 teaspoons garam masala, see notes
- 1 cup (180 g) dried red lentils
- 1 cup (240 ml) coconut cream, or coconut milk – see notes
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 3.5 cups (830 ml) vegetable stock
- Ā½ lemon, for juicing
- Ā½ bunch cilantro (fresh coriander)
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat a couple spoonfuls of coconut or olive oil over a low heat. Saute your onions until soft. Add the carrots and mix through. Add lots of salt and pepper to taste.coconut or olive oil, 1 white or brown onion, 12 oz carrots, salt and pepper
- Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder and garam masala alongside another spoonful of oil. Mix to coat the carrots and onions and once the scents are in the air, you can move on. (We don't want the spices or garlic to burn!)4 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp ginger, 2 teaspoons curry powder, 2 teaspoons garam masala
- Add the coconut cream, lentils and vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer and leave for at least 20 minutes (longer is better if you can) until the carrots and lentils are soft.1 cup dried red lentils, 1 cup coconut cream, 3.5 cups vegetable stock
- Add the cilantro (fresh coriander) and squeeze in the lemon juice, then puree the soup. I use a hand blender so that I can keep the soup in the pot the whole time, but you can transfer to a jug blender if you need to.1/2 bunch cilantro (fresh coriander), 1/2 lemon
- Serve with some extra fresh cilantro and lemon wedges for squeezing if you like.
This is delicious! A proper winter warmer. Left out the coriander cos Iām one of those š
Can’t be doing with a soapy taste in your soup š That is fair enough! So pleased to hear that you enjoyed it.