Curried Lentil Soup

The original recipe for this dish came from an old New York Times International Cookbook. Of course, I had to tweak it a bit!

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 4-6
• Yields: 8 cups

Ingredients

• 2  cups lentils, dry, brown
• 2  ounces salt pork, diced
• 8  cups water
• 1  cup onion, medium dice
• 1  cup carrot, medium dice
• 1  cup celery, medium dice
• 1⁄2-1  teaspoon mild curry powder
• 1⁄2-1  teaspoon garam masala
• 3  dashes  hot sauce, to taste
• 1  lemon, juiced and strained
• 8  ounces sour cream
• 8  cups cooked basmati rice

Directions

1. Render salt pork in large heavy soup pot. Remove and discard. Add onion, celery and carrot and saute until softened. Add curry powder and garam masala to taste and cook 1 - 2 minutes.
2. Add water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 45 to 60 minutes or until lentils are very tender.
3. Original recipe says to puree the soup, but this doesn't seem necessary. Stir in the lemon juice off the heat, just before serving. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Add optional hot sauce to taste.
4. To serve, ladle soup over cooked basmati rice in a deep soup bowl. Top with a generous dollop of sour cream.