Spicy Turkey and Red Lentil Soup

Me and a bunch of my female friends are playing an interesting game on FB to spread Breast Cancer Awareness. The game involves some code words that have only been shared among females and throughout the week we are posting weird status messages using the codes. It's amazing to see how people react to the status messages for half of them, especially guys having no inkling of what's going on.

 

 

Since our food habit contributes, to a large extent, to our immunity and catching of any infection or diseases, nurturing of healthy food habits is imperative that coupled with healthy life style and daily physical exercise enriches us from deep within, body and mind. With the noble intent to promote good health and good food habit, I have decided to post soup and salad recipes throughout this week. Now some of us believe that soup is a bland fare, but friends soup can be made in thousands of ways from very bland to very spicy, from very thin to very thick in consistency and I know soups that are in itself a meal; 2 bowls of those soups and you don't need anything else. Soup further works a miracle in controlling or bringing down weight, and whenever I feel like giving my tummy rest for a day or two especially after a week of gastronomic adventures, soup is the only thing I rely on.

 

Ingredients:                                                        Cooking time: 30 minutes ü  1 boneless turkey breast (boiled and shredded) ü  1 medium size onion (chopped) ü  4-5 cloves (chopped) ü  1 red bell pepper (chopped) ü  300 gm button mushroom (boiled and sliced) ü  100 gm cauliflower (cut into small florets) ü  1 carrot (chopped) ü  1 cup of red lentils (240 ml) ü  1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (optional) ü  1 zucchini (chopped) ü  6 tomatoes (pureed) ü  1 heaped tsp cumin powder ü  1 heaped tsp coriander powder ü  1 tsp garam masala powder ü  1 tsp nutmeg powder ü  Black pepper, taste wise ü  Salt to taste ü  4 cups of chicken stock ü  2/3 cup red wine ü  1 tbsp basil paste or fresh basil leaves, chopped ü  1 tbsp canola oil or vegetable oil Method: 1) Cook red lentil in microwave or pressure cooker in 2 cups of water until fully cooked through. Using a masher, then mash the lentil. 2) Heat oil in a large heavy bottom stock pot, add garlic and fry till garlic changes colour. Add onion and fry till onion turns translucent. 3) Add bell pepper, carrot, cauliflower and jalapeno pepper. Shallow fry the veggies. 4) Add tomato puree, cumin powder, coriander powder, nutmeg powder and black pepper. Cover the pot and sauté the mixture for 2 minutes. 5) Add cooked lentil, shredded turkey, button mushroom, chicken stock, red wine and zucchini. Add salt. Bring the soup to a boil. 6) Add basil paste and garam masala powder. Simmer on medium low heat for 2 minutes. 7) Ladle into serving bowl and serve hot.