Red lentil, chickpea and chilli soup

I have to confess that I really thought that I could escape the autumn feeling by spending my last two weeks of summer holiday in Singapore. But I was so wrong - for the past couple of days the weather has been horrible. It literally has been pouring down rain all the time (not to mention the occasional thunder in the mornings) and I haven't seen the sun in days. I guess my plan to get a nice and glowing tan before heading back to the UK has failed miserably. The reason that I'm talking about the weather is that for some weird reason plays a huge part in what I decide to make for dinner. Salads just don't seem to fit the bill for those grey and rainy days and I think that stews are a bit too wintery so that's left me with lovely soups. They warm you up, they're not too heavy and they're so-so tasty.

After having my usual tomato soup and butternut squash soup I really felt that it was time to try out something new for a change. I flicked through some of my Good Food magazines and found this soup. I obviously couldn't locate the right magazine when I wanted to make it again but thankfully it was up on their website. As I said, I've made it twice already as it was a huge hit with my other half - he loves that it is really filling and slightly spicy (the second batch came out a bit too spicy for me but the Greek yogurt helped to balance it out for me). For me this soup was a nice change from the usual smooth puree soups as I left it a bit chunky and the chickpeas really went well with the rest of the soup.

A lovely Middle-Eastern flavoured soup that is guaranteed to keep you full and tingle your tastebuds. And as I've discovered, nothing goes nicer with soups than some lovely toasted bread!

Ingredients
(Serves 4)
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- Large pinch of chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 140g red split lentils
- 850ml vegetable stock
- 400g can of chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 a can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- Small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped (plus some for serving)
- 4 tbsp Greek yogurt, to serve

Directions
First dry-fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes until fragrant. Then add the oil and onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the lentils, stock and tomatoes and bring to the boil. Simmer it for 15 minutes.

Blend the soup into a rough puree, pour back into the pot and add the chickpeas. Heat gently, season well and stir in the coriander. Serve with a generous dollop of Greek yogurt. Enjoy!

Recipe from BBC Good Food