Indian-Spiced Green Pea Soup

A nice split pea soup is comforting anytime of year, especially when the temperatures are cool. This Indian-style creamy pea soup includes green garden peas in addition to green and yellow split peas, and is ideal for lunch served with some fresh crusty bread, or as a starter or part of a larger dinner when a lightly spiced, earthy, thick and satisfying soup is in order.

Indian-Spiced Green Pea Soup

Recipe by Lisa Turner
Cuisine: Indian
Published on May 3, 2022

Hearty, earthy and creamy split pea soup with Indian seasonings and garden peas — wonderful for lunch or as part of a light dinner

Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 40 minutes

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Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups green or yellow split peas, or a combination of both
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 medium carrot, diced or thinly sliced
4 whole cloves
2 black cardamon pods, slightly crushed
2 green or red chilies, seeded and finely chopped
1-inch fresh ginger, minced or grated
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri or other chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/2 teaspooon amchoor (dried mango) powder (optional)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
5 to 6 cups vegetable stock or water, as needed
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh green peas (*see note)
1 tablespoon fresh mint, trimmed and chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
yogurt or cream for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

Rinse the split peas and soak overnight in enough water to cover for 6 hours or overnight. Drain, rinse, and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, celery, and carrot, and sauté for 5 minutes until the onion is softened. Stir in the cloves, cardamon pods, chilies, ginger, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, chili powder, cayenne, and amchoor powder if using. Stir for another minute.
Add the split peas and tomato and pour in the vegetable stock or water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours until the peas are tender.
Add the green peas and mint, and simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Remove from heat, discard the cardamon pods and cloves, stir in the salt and black pepper, and partially purée with an immersion blender or in batches in a countertop blender to achive desired consistency.
Serve hot or warm with a dollop of yogurt or cream and fresh mint leaves if desired.
*Note: If using fresh peas, lightly boil them for a few minutes until tender in a small saucepan. Drain and set aside until ready to add to the soup. I have used both yellow and green split peas for this soup, but use just green or yellow, or any other variation of split dal for variety.