South Africa has a huge variety of curry blends. I love the Cape Malay curry for vegetable dishes like this soup: It’s sweet, hot, a little pungent, but oh, so good! Cape Malay curry and spices can generally be found in spice stores, online, and in ethnic stores locally.
You can make your own spice stash by buying fresh whole spices, heating them briefly in the oven to lightly toast, and then grinding them in a coffee grinder.
Ingredients
- 2 T – Coconut oil
- 1 – Medium onion, diced
- 2 – Garlic cloves, sliced
- 4 C – College Inn Brand Thai Coconut Curry stock
- 1/2 C – Water
- 1 lb – Carrots, cut into 1" chunks
- 5 oz – Red lentils, picked over and rinsed
- 1 T – Curry powder
- 4 – Cardamom seeds, insides only
- 1 tsp – Turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp – Ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp – Ground coriander
- 1 tsp – Red pepper flakes
- 1 can – Coconut milk
- 2 packages – Oyster mushrooms
- Sesame oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Fresh sage leaves (optional)
- Fried parsley leaves (optional)
- Plain yogurt to mellow heat (optional)
Preparation
- 1 Sauté the onions and garlic in coconut oil until tender.
- 2 Add stock, water, carrots, and lentils.
- 3 Cook about 30 minutes over medium heat.
- 4 In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400.
- 5 Separate the leaves of the oyster mushrooms, and lay them out on a large baking sheet.
- 6 Drizzle with sesame oil, and season with salt and pepper.
- 7 Toss gently then roast about 15 minutes or until crunchy.
- 8 Remove and set aside to cool.
- 9
- 10 To the soup, add all the spices, and season with salt.
- 11 Then, purée the soup to your desired consistency.
- 12 After blending, return the soup to the stove over medium heat, add coconut milk, and stir.
- 13
- 14 Garnish each dish with roasted oyster mushrooms.
