Curried lentil, tomato and coconut soup from Ottolenghi Simple (page 52) by Yotam Ottolenghi

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Ingredients

chilli flakes
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- The Spice House - United States
tinned coconut milk
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EYB Comments

Can substitute sunflower oil for coconut oil.

Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

Eat Your Books

Can substitute sunflower oil for coconut oil.
pastaplease on March 28, 2026

Very tasty. Used canned crushed tomatoes. 11-22
Thorium0232 on March 23, 2026

Quick to make and very tasty.
MariaSwe on March 14, 2026

A bit too much coconut milk for my taste. And it needed some lemon juice before serving. Very easy recipe but I wasn't blown away.
DebCooks on March 12, 2026

Delicious recipe! I used half the curry in the recipe and it was still terrific; nicely flavored. Easy to make but delivered complex flavors.
rachel_ywqstg on March 07, 2026

Quick, simple, healthy, and flavorful! Uses convenient quantities (whole onion, full can of tomatoes/coconut, etc) that don’t leave strange leftovers. What more could you want in a recipe?
Brittania on February 18, 2026

Easy and tasty!
anna_1bxel8 on February 14, 2026

Squeezed some lime in at the end
sallybakes on January 31, 2026

Made for a soup potluck at work and it was a hit. Doubled the recipe and added the coconut milk later when heating the soup in the crockpot. Delicious!
sophia_csi5ki on January 31, 2026

Super good. I adds some extra garlic and used a leek instead of an onion and it was delicious!
treay on January 08, 2026

This is the second time I make this soup. It's super easy to make and it is yummy. I have made it to take to work for lunch. With the weather being a little cooler, soup is a nice thing to eat. It doesn't have many ingredients, but it has a lot of flavour. I have blitzed it a bit to make it smoother, but the first time I didn't and it was really delicious too.
lholtzman on December 04, 2025

This recipe is good, but not that different from other red lentil soup recipes. I like the creaminess from the coconut milk though. Make sure your curry powder is delicious as it makes a difference.
TFall21 on December 03, 2025

A nice, cozy soup that was easy to put together from pantry ingredients (and leftover cilantro stems!) I found it to be fairly bland as written and added some additional curry powder, salt, and red pepper flakes to taste.
CharlottePea on October 06, 2025

I would use stock rather than water next time and I used 1 tbsp mild curry powder and 1 tbsp medium (was making double) but would go all in with the medium next time. Was worried about the kids, but it was not hot at all and using the medium would have given it more flavour. I also used fresh tomatoes as I have a bunch that need using. I took the skins off first. I would make this again but I'm perhaps not raving as much as everyone else. Might up the garlic, coriander and ginger a bit next time too.
ksg518 on June 10, 2025

This doesn’t need another review but it really is an easy and delicious soup that could easily come from my pantry at any time. Like others I just add the whole can of coconut milk to the soup instead of reserving some for a topping. This results in a more yellow soup but still wonderful.
snackbaby on February 17, 2025

great soup, scales up easily as well! it benefits from line and sometimes from a little bit of sugar.
apw2020 on January 20, 2025

I've made this soup half a dozen times -- easy, filling and delicious.
westminstr on January 09, 2025

Made again. It’s a really good soup! 1/2 a lime made the flavors come alive.
Stephenn31 on March 26, 2024

Not bad. Needs a lot of ginger. Definitely a simple dinner on a cold night
Ishie1013 on March 25, 2024

Very forgiving recipe as I accidentally left the burner on low for an additional half hour, and the soup still tasted amazing despite being mushier and needing to add more liquid, but didn't ruin the flavor. I subbed the water with some leftover whey I had from making cheese. It was a really delicious hearty healthy soup and a great way to use up coriander stems from other recipes. It also serves as a base where I'm sure you could throw in other vegetables and have it hold up well. Also goes together rather quickly.
Lepa on February 20, 2024

This is good but I didn't love it as much as other posters. Next time I might use broth instead of water and blend some to make it smoother.
roj_ame on November 28, 2023

Good recipe. I added extra ginger, extra coriander, a tiny bit of tumeric and 1 fresh chilli. Used a home made garam masala instead of curry powder. Used persian red lentils.
jhallen on September 25, 2023

Fabulous as written. And easy.
clkandel on February 02, 2022

Quick to make and lots of flavor. Made this in the IP - Sautéed onions until just starting to brown. Added curry powder and ginger and sautéed about a minute. Added garlic and sautéed about 30 seconds. Added all other ingredients and cooked10 minutes, high pressure, natural release. Used chicken broth instead of water. Added some hatch chilies.
EmilyR on January 16, 2022

Another glowing review. I used fire roasted tomatoes. We added some paneer to the side and it was phenomenal all around. This will be in continual rotation through the Winter.
dinnermints on January 15, 2022

I expected to love this more after all of the glowing reviews, but then again I did accidentally use half the amount of ginger (I doubled the recipe), so that could account for a lot. I also wish I'd had the time to cook the lentils a bit longer. Like Nossovitsky, I didn't reserve any coconut milk for the top and put it all into the soup. I didn't have limes on hand the first night I served it and was a bit disappointed with it, but the next night added the lime (which, as others have noted, adds a lot - really should be listed in the ingredients) and some pan-fried shrimp for more protein, and then it was fantastic. Will definitely make again, and will try with broth instead of water as others have noted.
zabeta on January 06, 2022

I agree with other reviews that this is the best lentil soup I've ever had. I used the full amount of cilantro, which is a lot, used broth instead of water, and also added some lime juice to the soup. Absolutely delicious.
mondraussie on October 27, 2021

Easy and delicious
TLouise on September 21, 2021

Very good recipe and so easy. I may have gone a bit overboard with the spices as it was quite spicy. I also used light coconut milk as that was what I had on hand. Served with homemade garlic bread bowls and a sprinkle of cheese.
TrishaCP on March 06, 2021

This is an incredibly flavorful lentil soup. I agree that you absolutely need a tasty curry powder- I used the Goan Masala from Burlap & Barrel and it was heavenly in this soup.
allisonsemele on January 30, 2021

Way better than I expected from the ingredients list—I am generally suspicious of anything that relies heavily on curry powder. For the curry I used a mix of homemade garam masala, Jamaican curry powder, and store bought. Absolutely delicious—mine came out very thick and I served it over rice. Will repeat.
Ladyberd on January 15, 2021

A hit with the whole family, including my 8 and 10 year old. I used a Rogan Josh curry powder I had on hand and omitted the crushed red pepper until serving so it wasn't spicy for the kids. Delicious and one I will make again and again. Served it with some fresh naan!
Ro_ on January 27, 2020

Absolutely delicious. A lovely texture, and great balance of flavours with the creaminess of the coconut milk, earthiness of the curry and lentils, and zing of the coriander and lime wedges (he suggests the latter in the blurb but not in the method/ingredients, but I highly recommend squeezing on at the end).
averythingcooks on December 07, 2019

Well yes.....this is lovely. I made it pretty much as written except I used broth and needed extra to blend it very smooth (which is how I like lentil soup) before I stirred in the full amount of coconut milk.
Nossovitzky on May 19, 2019

Really delicious! A big hit at our house and easy to make with pantry ingredients. I don't add the coconut on top and it doesn't lose anything. I think the main flavour comes from the curry powder so use one you like. I usually add more salt and more chilli (fresh or dried).
JJ2018 on April 28, 2019

Huge hit for us. Really easy to make and a super tasty delicious soup. Can see this being a winter favourite
stockholm28 on April 07, 2019

Delicious and very easy. This will be repeated.
jackiecat on March 21, 2019

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/curried-lentil-tomato-and-coconut-soup
kari500 on March 21, 2019

Best lentil soup I've ever had, and I love lentil soup. I had everything but the cilantro, so I subbed green onions and it was so good that I will do that from now on. Easy and delicious, and yes, add the lime.
raybun on March 04, 2019

Absolutely fantastic, best lentil soup I’ve ever tasted. I used brown lentils as that’s what I had. Even the fussy 11yr old enjoyed it once it had been in the blender, so 5 stars!
L.Nightshade on February 14, 2019

Only brown lentils were available here, so that’s what I used. Cooking took a bit longer than specified, but other than that it worked out well. I used my own curry blend, which was probably a bit hotter than called for, so the soup had a definite kick. I also served it with the limes as suggested in the headnote. My coconut milk was oddly thin, which was fine for stirring into the soup, but didn’t work well for the swirl on top. I enjoyed this soup quite a bit, it was homey and comforting, as a lentil soup should be, but with a little extra pop of heat. I didn’t add any additional salt, left that option for the table, but I did think the lime is a critical part of the finished dish.
pistachiopeas on February 09, 2019

Really loved this. I added 1 tsp more of salt, and also lightly salted my onions at the beginning. Used Vadouvan curry & a bit more ginger than called for. We all really enjoyed this!
westminstr on February 05, 2019

Made on Feb. 2018 w a combo of red and french lentils bc I didn't have enough red. Had to add some extra water and cook longer to compensate for that. Eyeballed the ginger and had to add extra salt. This was really good; we liked it a lot!
MelMM on February 04, 2019

2-1-2019 This smelled great cooking, and was quite tasty. When I tasted to adjust the seasonings, I found it to be lacking in salt, and added quite a bit more. I also felt it could use some acid, so added the juice of half a lemon. With those adjustments, it was a pleasant meal.
grindabod on January 29, 2019

This is a delicious and warming soup, super easy, and it basically only uses storecupboard ingredients.
FJT on November 26, 2018

Really simple to make and great comfort food on a cold day. I added about two thirds of the water in the recipe and would probably add less next time.