Spicy Lentil Soup

Spicy Lentil Soup Served in an Acorn Squash

Soup:

2 Cups Lentils

1 Onion

2 Garlic Cloves

2 Tablespoons Oil

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

8 Cups Vegetable Stock

4 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

4 Celery Sticks

Salt and Pepper

Wash Lentils and cover with cold water to soak while preparing rest of ingredients. Peel onions and chop finely. Crush, peel and chop garlic. Heat oil in large pot and saute onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Add chili powder and curry powder and cook until fragrant. Add stock and tomato paste to pot. Drain lentils and add to pot. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until lentils are tender. Wash and slice celery finely. Stir through soup. Season with salt and pepper.

Acorn Squash (Optional):

Before preparing soup, preheat oven to 400. Cut small acorn squash in half. slice diagonals in squash and sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil. Roast in over for 30 minutes. (prepare enough halves for number of people eating. You can remove skin or leave it in tact. If leaving in tact its a good idea to loosen squash from skin with knife or fork. 

Bobotie

One of our favorite South African Dishes:


Bobotie
2 onions, chopped
2 lbs. ground beef
1 slice bread
1 tbsp. curry powder
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 C golden raisins
3 tbsp. chutney
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. turmeric
juice and grated rind of 1/2 lemon
6 almonds, quartered
1 egg
4 bay leaves

Preheat the oven to 350. Saute the meat with onions until brown. Pour off grease. Soak the break in half of the milk then mash with a fork. Combine all the remaining ingredients except the egg, remaining milk and bay leaves. Spread the mixture in a greased casserole and tuck in the bay leaves here and there. Bake for 1 hour. Remove the bay leaves. Then beat the egg with remaining half cup of milk and pour over. Return to oven for another half an hour. Serve with steamed rice and chutney.
I baked mine for an hour and then put it in the oven to reheat when I and the boys got home from work. I did not add raisins either..oops! I didn't serve mine with rice, like EVERY recipe says to because I didn't have any. Instead we had mixed veggies with curry spices and such....and chutney of course! What to do when Mrs. Balls Chutney is....make your own!

CHUTNEY:
2 cups diced peeled ripe mango (about 2 mangoes)
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation
To prepare chutney, combine first 9 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates and mixture is thick, stirring occasionally.