You can make a full meal out of this healthy dish. Simply eat with with a slice or two of whole wheat bread and savor its wonderful taste!

2 red onions, finely sliced
1 small chili, seeded and finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 cup red lentils, rinsed and drained
1 tsp ground cilantro
1 tsp paprika
4 oz. coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
3 spring onions, finely sliced
1 cup fresh cilantro
salt and black pepper to taste

In a large pan, heat olive oil. Add chilli, onion slices and bay leaf and cook for 4 minutes. Add crushed garlic and cook for another minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large saucepan, boil water. Place lentils in boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Drain out the water and put saucepan back on the stove. Add cooked onions, chilli and bay leave. Add ground cilantro, paprika and coconut milk and stir. Pour 3 3/4 cups water and stir well. Bring lentil mixture to a boil then reduce heat. Let the lentils simmer for 40 minutes or when the lentils are tender.

Add lime juice, spring onions and fresh cilantro when the lentils are cooked. Season the soup with a dash of salt and black pepper. Ladle some red lentil soup in a bowl and garnish with spring onions and a swirl of coconut milk. Serve hot.

• Lentils are considered as one of the five healthiest foods. Lentils are high in protein and they’re a rich source of dietary fiber, vitamin B1, folate and minerals. Lentils are also high in iron.

• Green lentils have more fiber than red or pink lentils (31% compared to 11%).

• Approximately 50% of the lentils produced in the world comes from India. Canada is the biggest export producer of lentils worldwide. In the Untied States, the Idaho Panhandle and the Palouse Region of Eastern Washington are the top lentil producing regions.

• It is thought that lentils are the oldest cultivated legumes, and are believed to have originated from the southwestern part of Asia, probably northern Syria. Lentil seeds were reportedly found in Egyptian tombs that date back from 2400BC.

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