Reviewed: Mar. 17, 2008

This was so good, I really loved it. The second time I made it I got a little adventurous with the spices and found an amazing secret ingredient - cinnamon. You should try it if you like interesting flavor combinations! I also didn't blend mine because I thought it was great as a chunky stew.

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DEBORAHJOMILLER

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Reviewed: Feb. 14, 2008

I was dissapointed with this recipe. It is edible, but nothing I would make again. Having said this, I think it would be only fair to post the changes that I made to the recipe. 1) used only 1 1/3 cup of lentils. 2) added one diced potato 3) omitted the basil. If you adore spinach, you will love this recipe, but I only like spinach, and it doesn't really work well in this recipe. Note to those who complained about their finished product not resembling the photo attached to this recipe. My soup/stew ended up looking exactly like this. Since it was so thick, I turned on my rice cooker and made served it with the stew. Good luck.

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Maria

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Reviewed: Jan. 27, 2008

I'm giving this recipe three stars, because I feel it has great potential, but the spices were not to my liking. I don't often (read: ever) use cumin or cardamom, and they were a bit strong for me. I plan on trying this recipe again, omitting these spices. It's super-cheap to make, and is packed with great nutrients. I think I'd leave everything else alone!

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tiffany13

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jan. 1, 2008

Very flexible recipe. I made it the first time as written. I have made it several times now and I have altered it a little. I saute chopped carrot with the onion and use twice as much liquid as recipe calls for. I also use 1/2 broth and 1/2 water, leave out added salt if using canned broth. I puree 1/2 the soup and leave the rest chunky. It's also great with fresh spinach thrown in near the end of cooking. Great flavor from the spices and makes the house smell great when it cooks.

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HAPPYMOM3

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Anchorage, Alaska, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 18, 2007

I really wanted soup, not stew, so I used instead two cups of chicken broth, two cups of water, only one cup of lentils, double the spices (used garam masala for the cardamom/cumin), and the rest of the ingredients in their original proportions. I also added the spinach in the last ten minutes of simmering time. The day I decide to eat it as a stew with rice or other starch, I'll follow the recipe to a T.

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Adriana

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Dec. 1, 2007

This was and is an amazing recipe. I did make a couple changes. I added more spices to give it an extra kick. I also only pureed half because I like texture. Also I did have to add more water. Soooo yummy, and healthy to boot!!!!

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stefenexx

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Reviewed: Oct. 29, 2007

I made this recipe with a few changes: 1) Added spinach and fresh basil in the last five minutes of cooking (I recommend this!) 2) Added shreaded meat from a rotisserie chicken near the end 3)Only put about 1/3 of it into a blender to puree 4) Served as a stew over rice It turned out to be a pretty good meal, but not earth-shattering. I enjoyed the combination of spices, which were definitely different and spicy. It's too bad that it didn't really look appetizing. I'm not sure where all the pretty colors come from in the recipe picture, but mine turned out kind of greenish. Overall, I may make this again if I have some lentils leftover from some other dish.

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Sara

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Reviewed: Aug. 12, 2007

This is the most disgusting looking thing I've ever eaten (I used green lentils instead of red ones, which I'm sure didnt help), but it was delicious! However, I did have to add about a cup more water, and used the tomato juice as well. Also, it took about 45 minutes for the lentils to cook.

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eiraena

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Reviewed: Jul. 16, 2007

This was O.K. but I don't think I would make it again. Even when adding extra liquid, this was really thick, so I served it over couscous.

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Elizabeth

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Brookline, Massachusetts, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 15, 2007

Really delicious! But once the spinach is cooked, it's more a brown stew than a red soup. Next time I'll omit the frozen spinach and serve topped with chopped fresh spinach for better color.

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Mimi

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Reviewed: Apr. 21, 2007

This was okay, but for whatever reason, the cardamom ruined it for me, and I only did 1 tsp. I added 1/2 tsp. of turmeric, 1/2 tsp. of coriander (as someone suggested) and an extra 1/2 tsp. of curry, used chicken broth instead of water (3 cups, not 2) and didn't blend it. The lentils seemed to need about 45 minutes to get soft. I would make this again without the cardamom, and either with more broth to make it soupier, or served over basmati rice using the 3 cups of broth only. It was pretty easy to throw together though.

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Sola

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Spokane, Washington, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 5, 2007

This is excellent!! I added about twice the water and twice the tomatoes to make it more soupy. Mmmmm...

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msubeth

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Reviewed: Apr. 4, 2007

My husband and I did not care for this. No recommendations for improvements.

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DELANIA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Toledo, Ohio, USA

Living In: Cocoa, Florida, USA

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Reviewed: Mar. 6, 2007

I really wanted to like this . . . it smelled delicious. But after two hours of simmering, the lentils were still hard as rocks. I substituted yellow lentils (the only available) for red; perhaps that was the problem. I will try this again by simmering everything else for a while, then adding canned lentils!

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historybee

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Reviewed: Feb. 12, 2007

This was a very tasty meal...it wasn't soup...I didn't blend it and it was thick and yummy. Even my 16 year old son liked it. He ate it on toast and I had mine over rice.

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AudreyLynne

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Reviewed: Dec. 1, 2006

It didn't seem soupy to me at all....It was more of a side dish...I did make some alterations, however. Anyway, I added more of the spices, and more salt. It was really yummy.

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