Red Lentil and Cauliflower Soup

Heat the oil and the butter together in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook them, stirring a few times until they begin to get translucent. Then add the minced garlic, jalapeno and grated ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. This will take about a couple of minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, curry, turmeric and salt and cook stirring until the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the canned diced tomatoes and their juices, chicken (or vegetable) broth, lentils and chopped cauliflower florets. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer and simmer the soup for about 25 minutes, stirring often so that the lentils don’t stick to the bottom of the saucepan. When the cauliflower and lentils are well cooked, add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and the freshly ground pepper.

Transfer the soup in batches to a blender and purée until smooth (since it’s hot, make sure that you don’t overfill the blender—that’s why you should do it in small batches). Pour the pureed soup back into the saucepan and, if desired, you can adjust the consistency of the soup with more broth or water.

Garnish the soup with the chopped cilantro.