Lentil and Millet (Curry/Chili) Soup/Stew

I think this is only the second recipe I've posted on here that I came up with entirely from scratch. Most of the recipes that I post come from other vegetarian blogs, and while I might make a few changes, the recipes aren't *mine*. I should really get better at writing down what I'm doing while I cook, because sometimes I can't remember exactly what I've done.

This was intended to be a curried lentil soup. The end result was definitely closer to a stew. I thought it still tasted of curry, but Spencer thought it was more like a chili. It doesn't matter, because it is so unbelievably tasty! This is a soup that could be modified in so many different ways. I added millet at the end to try and complete the protein. I don't know if it worked, but it was very filling.

Ingredients:

2 cups dry lentils
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
1/2 an onion, diced
~1/2 c millet (hulled)
water
olive oil

red curry powder
garam masala
coriander
cayenne pepper
fenugreek seeds
salt

I'm still experimenting with all of these spices; I really think whatever you had one hand would be tasty. But if you've never tried some of these spices, you really should. A lot of grocery stores have spices in bulk now, and that's a great way to try a new spice.

The first step is to cook the lentils. I used french green lentils, but really any variety other than red lentils would work fine. The red lentils cook a lot faster, and don't hold their shape as well. Different lentils will take different amounts of time. Just add the lentils to ~6 cups of boiling water, and boil until they're tender, anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. You want them to be tender, but not mushy. They will get some additional cooking time in the soup.

Saute onions in a few tablespoons of olive oil, along with the spices. The fenugreek seeds must be toasted a little bit in order to bring out their flavor, and I think the other spices benefit from this too. It really brings their flavors out, and creates a really flavorful base for the soup. If the spices stick to the bottom of the pan while the onions are cooking, you can add a splash of vinegar to deglaze the pan.

Add the entire can of crushed tomatoes along with the coconut milk; no need to drain. Bring everything to a boil, add the lentils and the millet, and cover. The millet will expand quite a bit as it cook, so you may need to add some water as you go to prevent the soup from being *too* thick.

Another helpful tip is to add a small sprinkle of salt along with each ingredient added. Then you don't have to add a lot of salt at the end, and it helps bring out the flavor of everything as it cooks.

This only needs to cook until the millet is soft. If you didn't add the millet, just cook until it is hot and all of the flavors are mixed.