Chana Masala (Indian Split peas lentil soup)

Copy/Pasting from my cooking blog ( http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/riz9007 )where I share authentic Indian/Pakistani/Arabic recipes. Most of the recipes are handed down to me by Late mother, my sister or my sister in law. Hope you enjoy it!

This is a very common dish in India/Pakistan and this particular technique is a Punjabi style. The recipe was shared to me by my sister-in-law and I hope you all enjoy it

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow split peas lentil ("Chanay ki daal" if you wanna goto an indian store and ask them by name)
1 medium size onion
2 tomatoes
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste (i used 1/2 tsp)
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 green chillies (if you like a bit of heat in your soup!)

Boil the 1 cup of split peas till they're soft and can break apart easily with just your fingers. Try not to leave alot of water

In a seperate pot, brown the onion in olive oil. Once its brown, add red chilli pepper and turmeric powder. Add the tomatoes in this and let it cook for a bit till the onions, spices and tomatoes make kind of a thin puree.

In this mixture, add in your lentils and cook for about 5 minutes. Add green chillies, salt and Garam Masala. Cook for another 5 minutes. Your chana masala is ready!

I usually eat it with "Achar" (Indian pickle made with mangoes and/or other veggies) and pita bread or white rice but you can even eat it as is like a soup

Nutrition facts (For the entire cooked pot):

Calories: 1001
Carbs: 140g
Fiber: 55g
Protein: 51g

Also have another lentil soup recipe posted here : http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/581373-lentil-soup-indian-laal-daal