Lent'll You Have?

The curried lentil soup I made last week and ate for lunch four days straight seems to have righted my path of wayward consumption. Still high on that success, I've decided to make another soup for the coming days. 

My challenge for this new pot is to it keep it vegetarian and full of fiber, protein, and flavor. But preferably tasting nothing like curried lentil soup. It was delicious, but my palate does have limits.

I've decided to go Moroccan and make Garam Masala the hero of this dish. And the sultry sultana its juicy sidekick. (I have no idea why this has turned into a dynamic duo episode. Let's just drop that and move on.)

Here's what you need for:

Hello Yellow Stew

1/2 cup of dried chickpeas, quick prepped*
1/2 cup of yellow lentils
1 large white onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of Garam Masala
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds, ground in a spice mill
1/2 teaspoon of coriander seeds, ground in a spice mill
1 teaspoon of Aleppo pepper
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
The juice of one fresh lemon
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of sultanas/yellow raisins
1/8 cup of cooking sherry
About four cups of water
Olive oil
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to taste 

Here's what to do:

Add lentils and prepped chickpeas to a large pot and cover with water. Cook for one hour, or until they are tender. Add water as needed to keep them covered and prevent them from sticking to the pot.

Drain the chickpeas and lentils and set aside in a separate dish. In the same large pot, drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom and stir in onions and garlic. Sauté until translucent, then stir in the Garam Masala, cumin, coriander, Aleppo pepper, and cayenne pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then stir in lemon juice, tomatoes, chickpeas & lentils, raisins, sherry, and water.   

Cook on medium heat about 1 hour or until water is cooked down. Add salt and pepper, as needed. Cool. (Best served the next day after all the ingredients have gotten intimate with one another.)

No longer yellow in color, but yellow in spirit. Whatever that means.

  *To quick prep: rinse chickpeas in a colander and discard any discolored ones. In a large pot, combine the chickpeas with enough cold water to cover them by two inches. Boil for two minutes, remove from heat, and let the stand, covered, for one hour. Drain.