Is the water in this ingredient list enough? {red lentils soup}

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

hello
i'm about to try a lentil soup recipe with loads of onions. i need you help to determine if the water quantity is ok (i don't use chicken stock because i can't find good ones in israel).


so can you tell me if the water is too much, too little or just the correct amount? {bear in mind that there is some bulgar in the recipe too so that need to be considered also}


and if you see any other problem in the ingredient list please tell me.


below is the list of ingredients. thanks!

• 6 good quality medium onions
• 700 ml boiling water
• A tablespoon of oil and a little more oil for the final stage
• 1 tsp salt
• {optional} 1/2 tsp. MSG
• {optional} teaspoon of sugar
• {optional} a small bag of sucralose {artificial sweetener}
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• Eighth teaspoon of hot paprika (chili powder) {careful with the quantity}
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 heaping tablespoon of high-quality tomato paste
• 150 grams of halved red lentils
• 2 tablespoons thin bulgur

 

[Andy M.]

I'm not sure. I'm not familiar with how much water lentils absorb. The good news is that you can add more at the end if necessary!

 

[taxlady]

I'm not sure. I'm not familiar with how much water lentils absorb. The good news is that you can add more at the end if necessary!

I agree.

BTW, 2 tablespoons of fine or medium bulgur (#1 and #2 bulgur) only need 2 tablespoons of water, ~30 ml. I don't think the bulgur will suck up too much of the water.

That sounds like an awful lot of onion for the amount of water, but I might be mistaken. How big is a medium onion by weight where this recipe is from?

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

well.


i write it as a recipe for others so i need a more precise measure of water. but thanks. i can try to look up in other lentils soups recipes to be sure.....


i will also film the recipe preparation so just want to be sure before i do it.


i will leave a remark in the recipe on "add more water if it's too thick"


this is more like an onion-lentils soup. this is why there is so much onions. it is very tasty. i had it before. the onion will be diced very large so you can enjoy the texture when eating..

the onions are medium size. it's not that critical if a little more or less big.



thank you!

 

[dcSaute]

hold on a sec . . .



you are writing a recipe for others that you have never made?


that is a serious lapse in judgement.
cook it, observe, adjust, perfect the recipe.
then cook the perfected recipe.


then write it down for others.
the internet is chock-a-block full of bad recipes, no need to add.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

And who adds sugar/artificial sweetener to soup? Never in my half century plus of cooking can I ever remember adding sugar to soup.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...That sounds like an awful lot of onion for the amount of water, but I might be mistaken. How big is a medium onion by weight where this recipe is from?

I agree, taxy. I get about one cup chopped onions from a medium sized one. That would give you around six cups of onion to three cups of water???

 

[karadekoolaid]

"hello
i'm about to try a lentil soup recipe with loads of onions. i need you help to determine if the water quantity is ok (i don't use chicken stock because i can't find good ones in israel)."

Have you actually made this recipe? Is this your recipe? What was the result of the "lentil soup" that you made? Did it taste good? Was it too sweet? Did it lack liquid?
Because if you can´t answer any of the above, then I wonder why you´re asking the wonderful folks on this forum to judge something you´ve never made.
And if the latter is the case, then I really believe you are pushing patience to the limit.
One of the enjoyable things about cooking is that you can just prepare a dish, off the cuff, see how it works out, and say "OK! That was great!" or "OK! Next time I need a bit less of x and a bit more of y".

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

hold on a sec . . .



you are writing a recipe for others that you have never made?


that is a serious lapse in judgement.
cook it, observe, adjust, perfect the recipe.
then cook the perfected recipe.


then write it down for others.
the internet is chock-a-block full of bad recipes, no need to add.

i've made it about 7 times.
the point is that i never wrote down the exact liquid because i always have to add more water in small quantities each time.


it's now about to be summer and i still want to post the recipe but i don't want much more trials and errors. so this is why i asked you here.

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

And who adds sugar/artificial sweetener to soup? Never in my half century plus of cooking can I ever remember adding sugar to soup.

in the original recipe there is no sugar but i like this additions along with some artificial sweetener to save on calories. not much sweetness tho.


check out this recipe. it has sugar in it.


https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/234914/how-to-make-tomato-bisque/


don't be too fixated

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

this is the original recipe
https://youtu.be/R6EZz9WUBKE

 

[dcSaute]

if you've made it seven times and not made any perfection notes,
you'll need to make it at least 4-5 times more with written notes.


the question you posed, does anyone here know if the water is enough,
from a seven time repeat, is quite simply put, inane.


if you don't know by now, there is virtually no chance any internet stranger who has never seen/made the recipe is going to have a better opinion.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...don't be too fixated

On what? Not adding unnecessary sugar to a savory food? While I am not averse to baking sweet treats, or using brown sugar in a rib rub to enhance bark development when cooking on a grill, I do try to not include sugar in foods I think don't need it.

A long time ago (almost 48!) when Himself shared his Mom's recipe for long simmer spaghetti sauce, I asked him why his Mom (a diabetic) added sugar to her sauce. He laughed and said that was the version she wrote up for him. She never used sugar, but she simmered the sauce for at least six hours, usually longer. She wrote up the recipe with college guys in mind - two hours simmer time, and a tablespoon of sugar to counteract the acid in the tomatoes. That "Chef John" recipe uses sugar to compensate for acidic tomatoes.

 

[taxlady]

Some of us just don't like the way soup tastes with added sugar. I once bought a can of some expensive, organic soup, Amy's I believe. I tried it and spit it out. Then I looked carefully at the ingredients. There was sugar in it. Unless it's a fruit soup, I do not want my soup to be sweet, not even a little. In fact, be sure you cook those onions long enough before adding water or stock to them, or I will think they are too sweet. And yeah, I enjoy the occasional sweet cake or pastry.

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

i think that often some sweetness in soups is wonderful.
when it comes to tomato soup i like it pretty sweet.


and it doesn't harm me when i use small quantity of sugar along with much more artificial sweetener.

 

[dragnlaw]

I've only bought commercial French Onion Soup once. It was so sweet it almost made me gag. It was 4 frozen individual servings.
I did not bother to look to see if there was added sweetner or if it was truly the result of the 'carmelized' onions.
Did not matter, in either case it was disgusting.

I've made my own onion soup since. (I was just looking for a quick fix when I bought it )

 

[jennyema]

And who adds sugar/artificial sweetener to soup? Never in my half century plus of cooking can I ever remember adding sugar to soup.

The artificial sweetener in lentil soup really skeeved me. I can’t even imagine that.

 

[Linda0818]

Some of us just don't like the way soup tastes with added sugar. I once bought a can of some expensive, organic soup, Amy's I believe. I tried it and spit it out. Then I looked carefully at the ingredients. There was sugar in it. Unless it's a fruit soup, I do not want my soup to be sweet, not even a little. In fact, be sure you cook those onions long enough before adding water or stock to them, or I will think they are too sweet. And yeah, I enjoy the occasional sweet cake or pastry.

I've tried a couple of Amy's soups and did not like either one. Never occurred to me it may be because of added sugar, but I suppose it's possible that's why I didn't like it.

As for adding sugar to soup, the only soups I ever add sugar to are tomato-based soups to cut the acidity. But I don't use a whole lot.