Zero Oil Curried Carrot Ginger Soup with Lentils (Vegan & Creamy)

5 from 7 votes

Zero Oil Curried Carrot Ginger Soup with Lentils (Vegan & Creamy)

Creamy carrot ginger soup made with red lentils and zero oil. This vegan, gluten-free carrot soup is healthy, comforting, and easy to make in the Instant Pot.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: carrot soup recipe, curried carrot soup, healthy soup recipes

Servings:

Calories: 64kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Ingredients

Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;

250 grams carrots peeled and chopped into chunks
5 grams ginger peeld
2 tbsp red lentils
1 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder
3 cups vegetable broth I crushed 1 veg bouillon cube in 3 cups of water for a milder flavor
1 cup water
½ tsp ground pepper as needed
2 tsp cilantro
1 tsp chopped nuts or pumpkin seeds

Instructions

Add the rinsed lentils, carrots, ginger, salt, curry powder, vegetable broth, and water to the Instant Pot inner pot. You can skip water and just add 3 cups of broth alone here. If using a stove-top pressure cooker, add all these ingredients to the pressure pan or cooker and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
Now close the Instant Pot. Make sure the sealing ring is in place and set the vent to the sealing position. Pressure cook for 10 minutes at high-pressure manual mode and release the pressure naturally. When the pressure has been fully released, carefully open the lid.
Let the veggies cool a bit. Remove the ginger piece, then puree the soup with a hand or immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can puree it in a mixer jar. Do it in batches.
After pureeing, set the Instant Pot in saute mode. Check for the seasonings and, if required, add salt. If using black pepper, add it now and simmer.
The soup will splash. So be cautious and turn off right away. And that’s it. No oil, no butter, carrot ginger soup is ready. Garnish it with cilantro and crushed nuts; I used crushed pumpkin seeds and served it warm.

Video

Notes

Water amount: I wanted a thin soup, so I added 3 cups of broth and 1 cup of water. But you can reduce the water measure to 2.5 to 3 cups if you want a slightly thick soup.
Veg broth/bouillon cube - I crushed one veg bouillon cube into 3 cups of water and used it for the soup. You can also use veg broth or veg stock water. Two cups are sufficient; if you don’t have broth, plain water would work too. In that case, add ½ tsp extra salt and curry powder.
Ginger - I pressure-cooked it with carrots, then removed it before pureeing, as it adds a slight bitterness. Alternatively, you can add ginger julienne when simmering the soup rather than pressure-cooking. I have tried both. If I have fresh, tender ginger, I add it when simmering the soup because I like that flavor, but if the ginger is not tender, I pressure-cook it with carrots and remove them before pureeing.
As we are adding stock, be cautious with the salt, as the bouillon cube may already contain it.
You can replace the curry powder with the home-blend I mentioned above. A quarter tsp of each (cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, garam masala, and fennel powder) would do for this measure.
Lentils add natural creaminess, so always add them. If you want to skip, I recommend adding ⅓ to ½ cup of coconut milk.
I didn’t add any turmeric powder, but a ¼ tsp would be a great addition.
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, simmer all ingredients in a covered pot for about 20–25 minutes until carrots and lentils are soft, then blend.

Nutrition