A lovely warming soup to keep away the January chill.

Ingredients:
30ml vegetable oil
400g tin chickpeas, drained
400g red lentils
25g fresh coriander
350g onions, chopped
2 vegetable stock cubes
40-80g tikka masala paste (depends how much curry flavour you like)

Method:
1. Cut the stalks off the coriander and finely chop. Put the leaves to one side.

2. Put the oil in a large sauce-pan and heat until hot. Add the onions and coriander stalks, stirring for about five minutes until the onion is soft.

3. Add the curry paste, stirring well for a further 3-4 minutes.

4. Rinse and drain the lentils and add to the pan, stirring it all together.

5. Add enough water to cover the ingredients, bring to the boil, then simmer gently.

6. Add the vegetable stock cubes then check regularly and add more water if necessary.

7. Once the lentils are soft and the liquid has been absorbed, remove the pan from the heat and carefully blend the soup until smooth.

8. Return to the heat, add the chickpeas and roughly chopped coriander leaves, salt and pepper.

9. Garnish with a sprig of coriander and serve with warm crusty rolls and butter or dairy-free spread.