Tunisian Tomato Soup With Chickpeas And Lentils - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup lentils, sorted & rinsed
1 cinnamon stick
7 cups water (more or less)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups minced onions
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 bay leaves
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed (canned is fine)
black pepper
cayenne pepper
currants (optional)
plain yogurt (optional)
parsley, chopped (optional)
of fresh mint, chopped (optional)

Preparation

In a large soup pot, place lentils with the cinnamon stick in 7 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick and drain the lentils, reserving the liquid.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, salt, turmeric, cumin seeds, ground cumin, and bay leaves. Saute over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until the onions are soft. If the pot gets a bit dry moisten with some of the reserved lentil water.
Measure out the reserved lentil water and add water to reach 6 cups of liquid and return to soup pot with the spiced cooked onions. Add the canned crushed tomatoes with juice and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook for another 15 minutes or so.
Stir in the chickpeas and lentils and cook for about 5 minutes to warm through. The legumes should not become mushy.
Season to taste with the two peppers and lemon juice; adjust salt.
Serve hot with some yogurt [omit for Vegan], a sprinkling of parsley or mint, and currants, if desired.