Curried Red Lentil Soup with Dandelion Greens

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small jalapeño or other chile pepper, seeds removed and minced
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp whole cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp red chilli pepper or cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups red lentils, rinsed
• 5 1/2 cups water
• salt, to taste
• 2-4 cups chopped dandelion greens or other greens (spinach, kale, chard)

Note: If you're using an old-fashioned jiggle-top pressure cooker, add a teaspoon or two of oil to prevent foaming.

1) In pressure cooker, sauté onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, jalapeño, ginger paste, and cumin seeds and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Add remaining seasonings and cook another minute. Add lentils and water. Seal pressure cooker and bring to high pressure. Cook at high pressure for 4 minutes; remove from heat and allow pressure to come down naturally.

2) Add salt (if using), check seasoning, adding more as necessary. Add additional water soup is too thick. Add dandelion or other greens and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes, or until greens are tender.

Regular Directions: Instead of pressure cooking, simmer soup in a large pot about 35 to 45 minutes or until lentils are cooked. Proceed with step 2 above.