Mulligatawny Soup

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
1/2 cup split Toor Dal.
You can get this in the Indian section of Superstore. Toor Dal explanation in Wikipedia
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 carrot, peeled and chopped

5 cups water
2 ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped
2 tsp curry powder (any commercial brand will work)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup thick coconut milk or 1/2 cup half-and-half

1 Tbsp salt, approximately
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped if preferred
1/2 a lemon

Preparation
1. In a medium-sized pot, heat the oil over high heat. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and carrot, and sauté for 3 minutes.

2. Add the dal, water, chopped tomatoes, curry powder, and pepper. Simmer over medium heat for 35 minutes.

3. Using a hand blender, puree the soup right in the pot, being careful not to splatter the hot soup. Add coconut milk (or half-and-half), salt, and cilantro. On low heat, simmer another 5 minutes.

4. Just before serving, squeeze the juice of half a lemon.