An easy and quick Carrot and Lentil Soup recipe in which lentils and carrots cook together with aromatics like ginger, garlic, onions and healing and immune boosting spices like turmeric. Then the yummy, vegan, and gluten free concoction gets pureed into a luscious, silky smooth bowl of healthy goodness.
Turn your Instant Pot on Saute mode, once it displays hot, add oil, followed by garlic, onion, celery, and ginger
Saute for a minute, add turmeric and cumin powder followed by lentils and chopped carrots. Stir until the lentils are lightly toasted, about a minute. Add salt and black pepper.
Add vegetable broth or water. Close the pot with the lid, cancel the saute mode, and set the mode to manual or pressure cook button and set to cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Make sure the pressure valve is in sealing position.
After 5 minutes are up, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then do a quick pressure release.
Open the lid and blend the ingredients to a smooth soup using hand blender. If you don't have an immersion blender, let the contents in the pot cool down a bit and then blend using your regular blender.
Transfer soup to serving bowls, garnish with cilantro and lime juice (optional) and serve with bread or naan.
Notes
Pressure Cooker Method: Saute all the ingredients as given in instant pot instructions. Close the lid and let the cooker come to full pressure. After a whistle, or full pressure is attained, cook for 5 minutes and then turn the heat off. Set a timer to 5 minutes and release the pressure. Proceed to blending the soup and serving as above.Sauce Pan Method: Use a heavy bottomed sauce pan with a lid and follow the sautéing instructions as above. After all the ingredients are in, bring to a boil on high heat and turn the heat to medium low, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the lentils and carrots are done. Blend and serve.