Serves: 4
Total Calories: 781

1/2 cup dried split pigeon peas (toor dal), sorted and washed in 3 to 4 changes of water
5 to 6 cups water
1 tablespoon Basic Ginger-Garlic Paste or store-bought
1 to 2 tablespoon South Indian Soup Powder (Rasam Podi), or store-bought
1 tablespoon peanut oil or melted ghee
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/8 teaspoon ground asafoetida
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen mixed vegetables, such as eggplant, okra, carrots, drumsticks, and green beans
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon minced fresh curry leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems

1. Soak the dal in 1 cup water until it absorbs the water and softens slightly, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the ginger-garlic paste and the tamarind paste.
2. When soft, transfer the dal to a medium saucepan, add another cup of water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, watching carefully and stirring, until the dal is very soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the soup powder.

3. Heat the oil (or ghee) in a large nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat and add the mustard and cumin seeds and the asafoetida they should splutter upon contact with the hot oil, so cover the pan and reduce the heat until the spluttering subsides. Quickly add the onion and stir about 1 minute.

4. Add vegetables, the soup powder, and salt and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes. Then add the cooked dal, the remaining water, tamarind paste, ginger-garlic paste, curry leaves, and cilantro, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. (Add more water if you prefer a thinner soup.) Serve hot.

From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 4
Total Calories: 781
Calories from Fat: 43

More Recipes from the 1000 Indian Recipes Cookbook:
* Soups
Cabbage Soup with Vegetables
Carrot-Ginger Soup
Cashew Corn Soup in Chicken Broth
Chicken Soup with Chayote Squash
Chicken Soup with Cream-Style Corn and Green Chili Peppers
Chicken Soup with Ginger and Coconut Milk
Chickpea Soup with Chicken Broth
Chilled Chickpea Soup
Chilled Potato Soup
Chilled Roasted Vegetable Soup
Chunky South Indian Tomato Soup
Classic South Indian Ginger Soup
Creamy Almond-Poppy Seed Soup
Creamy Tomato Soup
Curried Green Pea Soup
Fast Black Bean Soup, Indian Style
Fragrant Yogurt Soup
Goan Caldo-Verde Soup with Cauliflower
Goan Shrimp Soup
Mulligatawny Soup
Mysore Coconut Soup
Puréed Mushroom Soup with Yogurt
Puréed Pumpkin Soup
Puréed Spinach Soup
Quick Black Chickpea Soup with Cumin Seeds
Quick Lentil, Barley and Vegetable Soup
Quick Puréed Root Vegetable Soup
Quick Sindhi Split Pigeon Pea Soup with Tamarind
South Indian Buttermilk Soup
South Indian Lemon Soup with Mung Beans
South Indian Tamarind Soup
Spicy Chicken Broth
Spicy Lamb Broth
Spicy Shrimp with Coconut Milk and Tomato
Spicy South Indian Vegetable Soup with Tamarind
Spinach Yogurt Soup
Tomato Soup with Fresh Curry Leaves
Tomato Soup with Sautéed Vegetables
Tomato Soup with Yellow Mung Beans
Traditional South Indian Split Pigeon Pea Soup
Vegetable Soup with Yogurt and Coconut
Vegetarian Broth
Yellow Mung Beans and Spinach Soup with Sizzling Cumin Oil
Yogurt Soup with Flame-Roasted Eggplant