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Homemade Instant Pot Lentil Soup

Actually this is one of my all time favorite soups and really it is a comfort dish for me and it is cheap and easy to make. It also filled my children and my stomachs during the lean times too and then I was in my 20s plus this is another original done by me and I hope it is your favorite as well from years to come. It is a favorite of mine and of course I had to do with whatever I had to to create such a lovely soup which is absolutely amazing even in the dead of winter. Now you will need 1 cup of either green or brown dried lentils. You can find them in the dried beans isle of any grocery store and a lot of Middle Eastern grocery stores has the green ones especially.

Soak these lentils in a bowl of water but first you have to rinse them after you picked through them to see if there are any bad ones and rocks about. While that is soaking then you can turn on your instant pot to sautè for 5 minutes and select start then add 1 oz of either corn oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil or safflower oil. To this you can add 1 tsp either of hemp seed oil, hazelnut oil, macadamia nut oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil or almond oil.

Now you can chop either 1 onion or shallot and let cook until it turns brown and add 4 chopped cloves of garlic and stir. Now here is a rule of thumb here says me that if you are using any type of infused sea salt weather it is smoke or chilies then there are things you must observe. Only using the smoke infused sea salt if you are not using any smoked meat. I didn’t add because I added 1 piece of smoked turkey and you can use any part of the bird you wish. I used a smoked turkey tail. You can also use 6 pieces of zabiha halal turkey bacon or beef bacon chopped in to pieces too. Please pardon me I am not trying to get ahead of you here. I am mearly explaining to you because you may complain to me that it came out too salty or too spicy for your liking. Also same goes for if you are using the chili infused sea salt then avoid using red chili powder and or hot sauce. If using it is 1 pinch of the sea salt even if it is plain and now this one you can add it even if it is veg or non veg.

Aslo you can add the same amount of seasoned salt, vegtea seasoning, kosher salt, pink salt, bullion powder or even 1 bullion cube for general seasoning, Add 1 bay leaf even though I didn’t add it to the pot but next time I will. I was in a rush to get dinner done. For other choices of protien that you can use either 1 package also of zabiha halal hot dogs or even hotlinks plus the smoked sausage by making sure they are sliced first would work wonders too along with 1 lb or 1 kg of either beef, lamb, goat, chicken, veal, lamb shanks or necks, beef necks or shortribs, oxtails or even 1 rabbit. If using rabbit just make sure you wash it in cold water with 1 capful of white vinegar added. This goes for the rest of the types of protien you want to add too. Just be sure to wash them off before adding. If you do not want to add meat and leave it as either a vegan or a vegetarian dish then go ahead and add your smoke infused sea salt or liquid smoke for the smokey flavor. You can also use vegan bullion cubes too as well. Add 3 dashes each of maggi or knorr aroma and balsamic vinegar.

Now to me mixed herb is an absolute must and is strongly recomended for this yummy soup. Add 1 pinch each of majoram, thyme, basil, oregano, parsley, savory, rosemary, 1 pinch of paprika, the lentils and 1/2 cup of fresh carrots rough chopped in to chunks. They can be baby carots or even 4 big carots peeled and washed. Add 3 dashes of mrs dash 1/2 gallon or 2 liters of water then stir. Place the pressure cooker lid and listen for the jingle telling you it is on right and at times you may need to press the quick release button to get it to close. Once it is closed place to cooker to sealing position and select pressure cook for 20 minutes and start then walk away to do something else.When ready it will shut off by itself and place a steam diverter on it and tap quick release or undisturbed for natural release. When the float button is down and pressure is gone then you can open the cooker. If using oxtails or other tougher cuts of meat then repeat after you add 2 more cups of water in to the soup to make sure it is still soupy. Again open the lid after pressure escapes and enjoy. Ok fellow diabetics I understand how you feel. Lentils are high in fiber and protien content this is safe to eat. I had this for lunch and dinner today and it is amazing. Cheers!!!!!

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