Spiced Split Pea Soup with Apple & Coconut

Spiced Split Pea Soup with Apple & Coconut is wonderfully light and refreshing. Nutritious split peas are enlivened with spices and are given a nuttiness with coconut. Tangy apple gives a welcome sharpness. Try topping with my crunchy, fried potato matchsticks for perfect textural contrast.

SPLIT PEA SOUPS

As I wrote in my post about Split Pea & Ham Soup, split peas are an excellent source of fibre and protein, as well as being high in various vitamins and minerals. Very economical too, both the green and yellow varieties are obvious candidates for warming soups.

But that doesn’t have to mean heavy, rib-sticking broths. As lovers of Indian dhals will know, split peas can be the basis of wonderfully light soups and curries too. And that’s what I want to share with you in this post. My Spiced Split Pea Soup with Apple & Coconut is mild and easy to eat, perfect for lunch, a light meal or starter.

While split peas don’t require overnight soaking, I always pop them in boiling water from the kettle for five hours. This will reduce the cooking time considerably, so is well worth doing.

I make my split pea soups in an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker, but in the detailed recipe at the end of this post, I also show you how to make Spiced Split Pea Soup with Apple & Coconut on top of the stove.

SPICED SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH APPLE & COCONUT

As I write this, we’re coming to the end of the Christmas and New Year festivities. After indulging in the midwinter celebration with lots of rich food, many of us will be looking to start the year on a new footing. That might be by increasing our vegetable intake, losing a few kilos or by taking part in Veganuary or Dry January.

I think my Spiced Split Pea Soup with Apple & Coconut could make a great contribution to that new start. Entirely plant based, the nutritious split peas are perked up with cumin and fennel seeds and the warming Indian spice blend garam masala. Desiccated coconut gives flavour and a pleasant graininess while apple provides a refreshing tang.

I serve this soup with a swirl of thick coconut milk over the top of each bowl. But if you want to make the soup a little richer, then replace some of the low salt stock or water with 100-200 ml more of coconut milk.

And if you’re really not into too much self denial, then I highly recommend you make this fab garnish for the soup…

SPICY & CRUNCHY POTATO GARNISH

I almost always serve something crunchy with soups as I think the textural contrast is important. For Indian-style soups such as Spiced Split Pea with Apple & Coconut, I’ve started making a topping inspired by faradi chevda.

Prior to 2013, for twenty-five years I lived in multi-ethnic Leicester with Indian sweet marts among the fabulous range of food on offer. Milan’s was our favourite. One of the things I loved alongside their samosas, pakoras and aubergine fritters was faradi chevda – a wonderfully moreish salty, spicy, slightly sweet snack of fried potato sticks, nuts and dried fruit.

It was this crispy hit of flavour (minus the nuts and dried fruit) that I wanted to top my soup with. You can leave it off if you want to keep the soup simple, but I think the potatoes are a lovely addition. You can make them in advance and they’ll stay crispy for a couple of days in a closed container – but just try keeping your hands off them!

Whether you eat my Spiced Split Pea Soup with Apple & Coconut in its simplest form, or enriched with coconut milk and topped with crunchy potato matchsticks, I think you’ll agree it’s a winner.

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Spiced Split Pea Soup with Apple & Coconut

Spiced Split Pea Soup with Apple & Coconut is light and refreshing. A spicy, crunchy topping of fried potato sticks gives perfect textural contrast. Before starting, please read the Recipe Notes at the bottom of this recipe.

Course Soup, Starter, Lunch, Light Meal

Cuisine Indian

Keyword soup, Split Pea Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 medium onion roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 cm ginger root finely grated or chopped
• 1-3 hot chillies finely chopped
• 1 large cooking apple peeled, cored, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
• 0.5 tsp black pepper
• 150 g split peas, green or yellow soaked in boiling water for 5 hours
• 30 g desiccated coconut
• 1 litre low salt vegetable stock or just water
• to taste salt

To Serve:

• 4 tbsp coriander leaf roughly chopped
• 4 tbsp coconut milk

For the spiced potato matchsticks (optional)

• oil for deep frying e.g. sunflower oil
• 1 medium potato peeled then julienned or cut into matchsticks, soaked in cold water
• to taste ground cumin, chilli, garam masala, sugar & salt

Instructions

1. To make the soup in an Instant Pot (IP):

   Switch on the IP, put the coconut oil in the inner and press the saute button. When it's hot, add the onion and saute until it's softening (8-10 min). Add the garlic, ginger, chillies and apple and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring.

   Stir in the spices and cook for 2 minutes (add a little water if they start to stick). Stir in the soaked, drained and refreshed split peas (see Recipe Notes) and the desiccated coconut and saute for 1 minute. Add the stock or water and stir. Press the Keep Warm/Cancel button.

   Lock on the lid, making sure the lever points to 'sealing'. Press the Manual button and, using the + or - button, change the time to 25 minutes. Leave until the time has elapsed and the indicator has counted down to zero. Switch off and leave until the pressure has naturally released. Switch the lever to 'venting' then carefully remove the lid.

   Check if the split peas are very soft and starting to fall apart. If not, cook for a further 5 minutes and repeat. Switch off the IP.
   

   To make the soup on the stove:

   Put the coconut oil in a large saucepan over a moderate heat. When it's hot,add the onion and saute until it's softening (8-10 min). Add the garlic, ginger, chillies and apple and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring.

   Stir in the spices and cook for 2 minutes (add a little water if they start to stick). Stir in the soaked, drained and refreshed split peas (see Recipe Notes) and the desiccated coconut and saute for 1 minute. Add the stock or water and stir.

   Put on a lid and bring to the boil. Take down to a simmer and cook gently until the split peas are very soft and starting to fall apart (35-50 min). Take off the heat.
   

2. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until smooth. Add more stock for a thinner soup. Taste and season with salt plus more garam masala if needed.
   

3. Just before serving, stir in the chopped coriander (reserve a little to scatter over if liked), ladle the soup into bowls and swirl some coconut milk over each one. Top with spiced, fried potato matchsticks and the reserved coriander if liked.
   

For the spiced potato matchsticks

1. Heat the oil in a small wok, saucepan or deep fryer.
   

2. Drain the soaked potato sticks in a sieve and run fresh tap water through them. Dry thoroughly in a clean tea towel.
   

3. When the oil is hot, carefully add the dry potato sticks and cook until browned and crispy. Cook in batches if necessary.
   

4. As each batch is cooked, transfer to kitchen towel to drain for a couple of minutes then sprinkle with the spices and salt. Set aside until the soup is ready.
   

5. Sprinkle over the soup when serving.
   

Recipe Notes

• 5 hours before you want to make the soup, soak the split peas in boiling water. Drain, then run fresh, cold water through them before using in the recipe.
• If you're going to make the spicy potato matchstick garnish, put the prepared potato in a container of cold water before you start the soup. This will help to get rid of some of the starch.
• Timings shown are for making the soup on top of the stove. Using a pressure cooker will reduce the cooking time to approximately 45 minutes.

 

IF YOU LIKED THIS, TAKE A LOOK AT SIMPLE LENTIL SOUP