Curried Golden Chana Dal Soup

This is a delicious, nutritious soup that quasi comes from Rose Elliot's Vegetarian Cookery. My mom made the Curry version of the Golden Lentil Soup when we were down visiting for Easter, so I figured I'd make it when we got home...already knowing it'd be a good one. The recipe in the book calls for red lentils though. My mom, thankfully remembered to tell me that she'd made hers with some chana dal I'd given her, instead of the red lentils. I made my soup with more dal than she did for a slightly thicker soup. We just ate this with some store bought whole wheat naan (usually available in the deli section of the supermarket...at least at HEB in Tx.)

Curried Golden Chana Dal Soup:

2 Tbs unsalted butter, or Earth Balance
1 large chopped TX sweet onion or (~4 cups)
3 tsp mild curry powder
1.5 cups chana dal
4 cups sodium-reduced vegetable stock (I used Kitchen Basics)
2-3 cups water
1/2 cup coconut milk
1-2 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
Fage or other Greek yogurt to top (I highly recommend this. It's a really nice contrast to the sweetness of the soup)

Melt the butter over med-high heat in a dutch oven. Saute onions with curry powder until translucent and soft, but not browned...about 10 minutes. Add dal and stir for 1-2 minutes, then add stock and ~2 cups water. Bring to the boil, then half cover the pan and leave to soup to simmer gently for ~50 min. to an hour, or until dal is very tender. Check soup during this time and add more water if you think it's necessary.
When finished cooking stir in coconut milk.
Puree soup with a stick blender, or transfer to a regular blender in batches. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a dollop of Fage Greek yogurt.