Spiced carrot and lentil soup

My sister reminded me of this lovely soup recently when she cooked it for me for lunch. It's low fat, healthy and very filling, so with the accompaniment of some warm naan bread last night it made a very ample meal. The recipe is from the Good Food website. I love the fact that you don't even have to chop an onion for this soup.


Ingredients

Serves 4
2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch chilli flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
600g carrots , washed and coarsely grated (no need to peel)
140g split red lentils
1l hot vegetable stock (from a cube is fine)
125ml milk
plain yoghurt and naan bread, to serve

Method
Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes for 1 min, or until they start to jump around the pan and release their aromas. Scoop out about half of the seeds with a spoon and set aside. Add the oil, carrot, lentils, stock and milk to the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have swollen and softened.
Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth (or leave it chunky if you prefer). Season to taste and finish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of the reserved toasted spices. Serve with warmed naan breads.