This high protein vegetarian curry soup was inspired by my neighbor.  My neighbor and I have a great thing going with purchasing organic wheat berries from a co-op and then milling the wheat berries for flour whenever we need to bake bread.  In this insta-pot soup, I use the hard white wheat berries as well as lentils and chick peas for the protein.  It's so easy to make and it's absolutely delicious when garnished with some toppings.

In my opinion, not only is the soup tasty, but with the garnish, it's amazing with all the various mouthfeels.  The cilantro-yoghurt dressing brings some creaminess, smoothness  and cool to the soup.  The crispy fried onions add a crunch and a sweetness to the dish.  The fresh cilantro adds that earthiness and the wheat berries give the soup a unique nutty texture.  It's truly a symphony of flavors and mouthfeel.  The best part is that it's so simple, easy to make and very healthy!

Tips for making high protein vegetarian curry soup.

I love this soup, because it's so easy to make and is great for meal prep.  As the lentils and wheat berries soften over time, the soup gets thicker, heartier and more flavorful. 

Insta-pot

It's best to use an insta-pot with this soup to break down the lentils and wheat berries quickly.  However, if you don't have an insta-pot the soup can be simmered for 2 hours to get the same results.

Wheat berries

This recipe uses hard white wheat berries.  These berries are the kernels that are ground to make bread flour.  Hard white wheat berries can usually be found in the bulk section of a grocery store such as whole foods or sprouts.  Wheat berries can be substituted for farro or barley.  The wheat berries do need to be soaked with the lentils for at least seven hours our overnight as they absorb a lot of liquid and need to be hydrated.  The wheat berries provide a nuttiness to the soup.

Vegetarian protein

For this soup, lentils and chickpeas are used as the vegetarian protein. Toor dal is split pigeon peas and moong dal is husked split mung beans. I use a combination of both lentils because of the way each lentil cooks.  Moong dal tends to break down more than toor dal so it thickens the soup while toor dal maintains its integrity so there is  a distinct mouth feel.

All purpose seasoning

This recipe uses Sammy Wong's all purpose seasoning.  It's a blend of several herbs and spices and has the right combination of herbs and spices.  

Spices

To make this authentically Indian, turmeric, curry leaves and a cinnamon stick are added.  Curry leaves can be found at ethnic stores and gives the soup an earthy flavor.

Garnish

I like garnishing this soup with a cilantro yoghurt dressing, additional fresh sprigs of cilantro, slices of chili peppers for color and crispy fried onions. Crispy fried onions give the soup a crunch and a sweetness that really rounds out the mouthfeel of the soup. Crispy fried onions are readily available at any grocery store.  Add the crispy fried onions just before serving to avoid having them become too soggy!

Enjoy and bon appetit!