Lentil Balls Veggie Soup

It's getting nippy here heralding the gorgeous season of autumn. I love every season for what it offers, and I await with anticipation all the changes each season brings, but, I must admit I am a bit more partial to Autumn than the other three.

The pageantry of leaves bursting with bright red, deep burgundy, sparkling yellow, shocking orange, and even dark pink, clinging valiantly, only to eventually abandon the tenuous attachment, leaving the starkly bare trees forsaken for the winter.

Colder weather means more warm soups and casseroles, fresh-baked breads and quick biscuits.

I make Steamed Lentil Balls on and off and freeze a batch for other uses. Steamed lentil balls when crumbled and sauteed add the much-relished crunch and protein to vegetable sides in the Paruppusili dishes.

This brothy lentil balls soup is quick and simple for a weeknight meal, especially if the lentil balls are already made and frozen. Simply toss in the frozen lentil balls into simmering vegetable broth, add some veggies and herbs and spices, allow to cook to lentil balls are fork tender again but not too cooked that they fall apart. That's it.

Steamed Lentil Balls with Parsnip, Rutabaga, Turnip

Served as snack or appetizer, these steamed lentil balls are packed with so much goodness that I can end up overindulging. And, when cooked in a curry sauce, it is the perfect side dish for naan or roti.

Petite French green lentils and split pigeon peas (tuvar dal), along with some bulgur (cracked wheat) is soaked in hot water till they soften a bit. Then ground up with some herbs and flavors.

Grated parsnip, rutabaga, turnip, and ginger bring in the earthy flavors.

Coconut flour, my latest obsession, is perfect to bring the dough together to shape into balls. High in fiber content, coconut flour helps bind the lentil paste and grated veggies. These balls can be steamed or deep fried or baked. I made a batch of steamed lentil balls and a batch of fried ones for kids's snack.

These steamed lentil balls are very much like the traditional South Indian Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu recipe, but with a boost of flavor from winter root vegetables.

The steamed lentil balls can be cooled and frozen for later use. Just thaw overnight in the fridge before incorporating in curries or other recipes.

Ingredients
For the Lentil Balls:
1½ cups combined grated turnips, rutabaga, parsnip, ginger
⅓ cup coconut flour, more or less
to soak and grind to paste:
¼ cup split pigeon peas
¼ cup green lentils
¼ cup bulgur
3 or 4 dry red chilies (optional)
to flavor:
&frac14l teaspoon turmeric powder
&frac1 teaspoon chili powder
&frac1 teaspoon brown sugar
salt to taste

For the curry:
2 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp dark cocoa powder (optional)
2 Tablespoon tamarind concentrate (sold as Sour Soup Mix)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
¼ cup finely diced onions
¼ cup finely diced red, yellow bell peppers
1 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
favorite spices - cumin powder, coriander powder, or ready-made taco seasoning, or even Ras al Hanout

Preparation:

1. Soak the split pigeon peas, green lentils and bulgur with optional red chilies in boiling hot water for about half an hour or up to one hour
2. Meanwhile, grate the parsnip, rutabaga, turnip and ginger and keep handy
3. Grind the soaked split pigeon peas, green lentils, bulgur, chilies to a fine paste, adding no more than a few teaspoons of water if needed -- the lentil paste needs to be thick not runny
4. Combine the ground lentils mixture, grated veggies, flavoring ingredients, add a little bit of coconut flour at a time and mix the dough to a stiffer consistency that will lend itself to shaping
5. Shape the dough into balls and steam for about 10 minutes
6. Meanwhile, start the curry simmering in the pot - simply combine all the curry ingredients and bring to a simmer, adjusting flavors
7. Drop the steamed lentil balls into the gently simmering curry and allow to cook for about 8 to 10 minutes to absorb the flavors
8. Serve warm with rice or roti or naan

Alternately, I saved a batch of lentil balls before steaming, and deep fried these for the kids. The steamed lentil balls can be deep fried as well, if preferred.

With some ketchup on the side, kids love eating up these fried balls not surprised at all by the fact that it has turnip, parsnip, and rutabaga which they typically avoid at all costs.

Spicy Lentil Balls with Kale, Eggplant, Bell Pepper, Zucchini

Lentil balls (Paruppu urundai) sambar was a favorite when I was young; and of course, my mom made the best lentil balls sambar. Growing up vegetarian, and looking back at the amazing array of vegetarian foods I got to eat, I am always eager to share some of these recipes with friends who feel limited by their choice of vegetarian diet - salads are fine; steamed broccoli and cauliflower are nice; creamed corn and blanched green beans are wonderful, but that is not all. There's so much more.

Anyway, lentil balls can be made ahead (as in the paruppu urundai kozhambu recipe), steamed and then frozen for later use. Thaw before incorporating it in recipes. This time, I added some tomato paste, sambal oelek, cayenne pepper powder and paprika to the soaked-and-ground lentils before forming balls and steaming them. Hence the "spicy" lentil balls.

The combination of bell peppers, eggplant and zucchini is quite irresistible for me. Sauteing these three with some red onions and a touch of garlic, with a sprinkling of salt and turmeric powder gives off a heady aroma that is utterly appetizing.

Ingredients
6 to 8 lentil balls
2 cups chopped kale
1 cup diced eggplant
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup diced green bell pepper
½ cup diced red onion
1 tsp turmeric powder

2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp cumin powder
1 Tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp sambal oelek
1 tsp brown sugar
salt to taste
oil as needed
water as needed

Preparation

1. heat the oil in a pan, saute the onions, garlic, tomato paste with a dash of salt and turmeric powder
2. add the rest of the veggies and spices, a cup of water, cover and allow to simmer
3. slide in the steamed lentil balls and simmer till the flavors infuse into the balls
4. serve warm with basmati rice or roti

Paruppu Urundai Kozhambu

This is a kozhambu (kuzhambu) aka stew my mom makes when she runs out of fresh seasonal veggies to make sambar with and needs to make something healthy.

Paruppu=Lentils; Urundai = round/ball.

Kuzhambu is a spicy sauce-dish from South India which can be made with practically any of the lentils, grams and vegetables common to the region, and is typically served with plain hot rice.

So, instead of veggies, this kuzhambu has lentil balls. Toor dal is soaked and ground to a fine paste, shaped into balls, steamed and boiled in kozhambu spices to make this delicious dish, usually had with plain rice.

I reserve some of the steamed lentil balls for another dish called 'paruppusili' which can be made with veggies like snake beans, bunch beans, capsicum etc.



Ingredients

for lentil balls:
1 cup toor dal
3 dry red chilies
3 cups water

tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp urad dal
2-3 curry leaves chopped
1 Tbsp canola oil

for kozhambu:
4 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
4 cups water
1/2 tsp asafoetida (optional)
1 Tbsp oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp coriander powder
1 Tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp cornstarch (for thickening)
salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Lentil balls: soak the toor dal and dry red chilies in water for 30 mins; drain well; grind to a thick fine paste so as to be able to shape them into balls; add some salt to taste; shape them into balls about 2 inches in diameter; steam them till they are firm and cooked; set aside
2. heat oil in a pot, add the onions, asafoetida, pinch of salt and coriander+cumin powders; sauté well
3. add water, tamarind paste and brown sugar and let it come to a boil; lower the heat, add the steamed lentil balls one by one - as many as you'd like in the stew - gently into the pot and let them simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes or so
   
4. if it seems too watery, thicken with cornstarch: dissolve the cornstarch in a few Tbsp of water and slowly add it to the simmering pot and stir well till thickened; adjust salt to taste
5. in a small ladle or pan, get the tempering ready: heat oil in a pan, when the oils shimmers, add the urad dal, when they turn golden brown, add the mustard seeds, and when they pop and die down add the cumin seeds and curry leaves, off heat, set aside
6. when lentil balls seem to have absorbed the flavorful spices and feel like a loaded sponge, off heat, garnish with tempering, serve warm with basmati rice