Wholesome Pasta and Lentil Soup

This year soups made their entry into my kitchen a little early - with respect to winters. Well all of us at home had our bouts of cold and cough every now and then during summer which left us wanting to have soups, which we normally like during the cold months. I was totally bugged of having the same old tomato, veggie, chunky chicken soup. So I thought why not extend the idea of a soup into something more substantially filling. And if there is anything that would go well with soups (other than noodles) its pasta. Bingo! And, I decided on making this wholesome pasta and lentil soup. Its not only hearty but very comforting and healthy too.

Ingredients
1 Cup Pasta - Cooked (Click here for instructions on cooking pasta)
1/3 Cup Lentils of your choice (I've used masoor dal, i.e. red lentils) - Soaked for about 3 hours
1 cup Spinach
1/3 Cup chopped onions
1/3 Cup chopped carrots
1 tsp Crushed Ginger
1 tsp Crushed Garlic
1/2 tsp Chillie powder (Or pepper)
1 Cup Vegetable or Chicken broth (Ive not used this. I simply added water since I had no broth on hand)
Oil
And, of course, some salt to taste!!

Method
- Heat oil in a deep saucepan
- Add the crushed ginger and garlic and stir for a few seconds
- Add onions and fry until they turn transparent
- Add carrots and spinach and stir until the spinach wilts
- Add the chillie powder and salt and fry for another few minutes
- Drain and toss in the lentils and stir
- Add vegetable/chicken broth
- Cover and cook until veggies are done
- Now add the cooked pasta, lower the flame, adjust salt and cover and cook for about 20 minutes

Noteworthy Notes
1. You can opt to add some corn flour (made into a thin paste by mixing with warm water) after you add the broth. This will make the soup thick in consistency.

SERVES 2