One of the beautiful things about traditional Indian cooking is that each cook grinds her own spices, and each dish therefore bears the unique thumbprint of its creator. Freshly ground spices give this simple soup a gourmet touch.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　1 cup dried lentils

　　6 cups water

　　1 teaspoon cumin seeds

　　1 tablespoon coriander seeds

　　8 black peppercorns

　　1 teaspoon ground turmeric

　　1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate (see Note on pages 51–52)

　　3 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped

　　3 cloves garlic, finely minced

　　Kernels cut from 2 ears fresh corn, or 1 cup frozen corn

　　Salt to taste

　　

Tempering Oil

2 teaspoons ghee

　　2 teaspoons black mustard seeds

　　1 dried red chile, broken into bits

　　1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

　　

Step 1

Wash the lentils thoroughly, being sure to remove any small stones or dirt. Place them, along with the water, in the slow cooker insert.

　　

Step 2

In an electric coffee mill or a mortar and pestle, grind the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns to a coarse powder.

　　

Step 3

In a bowl, combine the ground spices, turmeric, tamarind concentrate, tomatoes, and garlic; add to the lentils.

　　

Step 4

Cook, covered, on low for 5 to 6 hours, or until the lentils are quite tender and the flavors have melded.

　　

Step 5

Add the corn and salt to taste just before serving so that the corn retains its fresh flavor and texture.

　　

Step 6

To make the tempering oil, heat the ghee in a frying pan, then add the mustard seeds and broken chile and sauté until the seeds begin to pop. Quickly remove from the heat and drizzle a tiny bit over each bowl of soup.

　　

Step 7

Sprinkle with the fresh cilantro and serve.

　　

Suggested Beverage

Step 8

Any chilled, aromatic white wine will do nicely here.

　　Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker