Lentil and Spinach Soup

This soup is based on Indian flavours, more a warming flavour than hot. It is very good for you too! I've sorted the ingredients into order of use to make it easy (there's a lot of ingredients but it is easy to prepare once everything is organised).

2 teaspoons cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
2 teaspoons coriander seeds (or ground coriander)
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1 tablespoon butter
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2 dried red chillis (or more if you like), soaked in warm water for 10 minutes then chopped
8 curry leaves
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds (omit if they are hard to find)
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
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1 teaspoon ground turmeric
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1 1/2 cups red lentils (rinse in cold water to remove any dust or foreign bits)
2 medium potatoes, chopped
1.25 litres (approx 5 cups) vegetable stock
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2 bunches English spinach, roughly chopped
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2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate (or make some tamarind water with a small hunk of tamarind in boiling water and strain)
medium can (approx 200g) coconut milk


If you are using whole cumin and coriander, gently dry fry in pan until fragrant. Crush into a powder and set aside. If using ground spices, set aside for now.

Heat butter in large pot and add onions, garlic, ginger, chillies, curry leaves, mustard and fenugreek. Cook until onion is translucent.

Add crushed cumin and coriander and turmeric, stir and cook for one minute until it smells fantastic.

Add lentils, potatoes and stock, bring to boil and simmer for about 15 minutes until potatoes are tender. Stir in spinach and cook for a further two minutes until spinach is wilted.

Blend soup until pureed. Return to heat and add tamarind and half the coconut milk. Stir and taste. Add more coconut milk to taste. If the soup is too thick, add a little hot water.

Keeps well in fridge and freezer. Excellent starter for an Indian meal or a meal in itself with toasted bread.