Pomegranate Soup

Pomegranate Soup

I saw“Pomegranate Soup”, a best seller by Marsha Mehran at the book store,I bought it right away. It was an interesting book about three sisters from Iran who end up opening a restaurant in a rural town somewhere in Ireland.


The story was interesting but the recipes at the end of the chapters were even more interesting!

I suggested this book for my book club, just so I could try the recipes...naurally, I ended up hosting the book club and making the main recipe - Pomegranate Soup.  Although, everyone enjoyed the dish, they including me had visions of a red juicy soup with a lot of pomegranate in it. Instead it happened to be similar to kichdi (rice –daal mush) that is often prepared at homes in India, may be I did not add enough juice, or the juice was not red enough, then again... I do have trouble following recipes. 

I will talk about kichdi in a post later on, but for now, Pomegranate Soup, I tweaked the original recipe a little to add some fresh pomegranate fruit and adapted the recipe to cooking it all at once in the pressure cooker. Unfortunately, I just found out that Marsha Mehran the author of the book is no more, she passed away about five months ago in Ireland. 

Pomegranate Soup ------ Serves 4 - 6

1 C Pink Lentils [Wash and Rinse in cold water 4 -5 times]

1 C Basmati Rice [ Wash and Rinse in cold water 4 - 5 times]

4 C thinly chopped Onions

4 Roma Tomatoes diced

Herbs .......

1/2 C chopped Mint

1/2 C chopped parsley

1/2 C chopped Cilantro

Spices ........

1/2 t Tumeric

1 t chilly powder ( paprika)

1 T Cumin Powder

1 T Coriander Powder

1 T Lemon Juice

2 C Pomegranate Juice

2 T Pomegranate Mollasses 

1 C fresh pomegranate seeds

Saute 4 C of onions until golden brown in 2 T of Olive oil in a large pot or a pressure cooker.

Add the chopped tomates and saute for another 4 -5 minutes

Add the pink Lentils and the rice

Add the salt and spices.

Add the herbs and Saute for another 4 minutes

Add about 6 Cups of water and cook for 30 - 40 minutes in a regular pot or 10 minutes in a pressure cooker.

Finally Add Lemon juice, Pomegranate juice, seeds and Mollasses and blend well.

 Tip : Add another 1 C of warm water if needed

Enjoy!!!!