World Vegan Day: Burmese Yellow Split Pea Samosa Soup

Oh can it be true? Yes indeed!  Two of my favourite dishes on one big bowl: South Asian style spicy Dal and deep fried triangles of delicious Samosa.

Today it is World Vegan Day and the start of Vegan Mofo.   I have no set theme for the month of November, so I will probably follow some of the Vegan Mofo themes and prompts. The theme today is what is your favourite food?  I am of South Asian heritage and very fond of my Dals and deep fried snacks including the pakora aka onion bhaji.  I consider both these dishes to be comfort food in my eyes, so you can imagine my delight when I stumbled across the recipe a few years back. 

Inspired by a Burmese Samusa Thouk they had at San Francisco's Burma Superstar  in 2007, the food blogger NCJay went back home and re-created a version.  And guess what Samusa Thouk is still featured today at the Burma Superstar restaurant.   Burma Superstar assert that it remains one of their most popular soups for vegetarians and meat eaters alike.  Well I don't think I will be travelling from Wales, United Kingdom to San Francisco anytime soon, so I am pleased this recipe was recreated in their home so that I could enjoy it in my home here in the Welsh valleys and shared with my readers as well as those of you visiting my blog for the first time through Vegan Mofo on World Vegan Day.

I think this Burmese Yellow Split Pea Dal is perfect to share on World Vegan Day as its very different from those dals you find in South Asian homes and eateries.  It contains an added ingredient in the form of shredded white cabbage.  Most Indian style dals are just made with the lentil and spices and then simmered slowly to be transformed into something quite simple, yet delicious.

The Samosa drowning in the Yellow Split Pea Dal Soup acts like a crusty bread roll or croutons.  This combination may sound a bit unusual, but it makes sense to me as my family do eat samosa this way but its with salad and a raita and then crushed into those components into a spoonful of messy deliciousness.  I won't fib, the samosa's are homemade, but not by me.  My sister in law sometimes makes me a batch that I put in the freezer and shallow fry at home when snack attacks, but feel free to make your own or even buy from a good South Asian take-away. I also loved the sharp tangy undertones of the tamarind that was soothing on my throat. 

Even though the Burmese Yellow Split Pea Soup was tad too spicy for me, I loved it.  We had it over the weekend when the Welsh weather outside turned a little nippy.  My original thoughts were this would be like a starter, but to be truthful - we were both way to full the rest of the evening to eat anymore, other than grazing on some left over Birthday cake.  Once again Happy World Vegan Day.


I am sharing the Burmese Yellow Split Pea Soup with Inheritance Recipes co hosted by Solange at Pebble Soup and Coffee and Vanilla as this recipe combines two dishes from my heritage: Dal and Samosa.  

I am also sharing it with  Soups, Salads and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen; Sneaky Veg, Hijacked by Twins for CookBlog Share; My Legume Love Affair that was started by The Well Seasoned Cook and now administed by Lisa's Kitchen.  this month is is hosted by Briciole; Honest Mum for Brilliant Blog Posts; and finally Healthy Vegan Fridays hosted by Rock My Vegan Socks and V Nutrition.


Burmese Yellow Split Pea Samosa Soup 
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients 
240g yellow split peas, soaked overnight then washed and drained.  
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 - 3 chillies, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
300g about 1/2 white cabbage, shredded
2 pints vegetable stock
Salt to taste
1 - 2 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
Optional: tin of chickpeas or even black or brown chickpeas
Garam masala for garnish
4-6 deep fried samosas
Fresh coriander, minced
Bean sprouts
Method
In a wide pan, heat the oil, then saute the onions, after a few minutes stir n the garlic and cook on low heat until very soft, then stir in the spices to coat the soft onions.  
Then stir in the cabbage. saute for a few minutes before stirring in all of the soaked lentils and the vegetable stock.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to cook for 45minutes up to an hour for the split peas to cook, soften and break down an the cabbage to almost melt into this spicy concoction.
Stir now and again to stop it from sticking at the bottom of the pan, and top of with extra water if necessary.
Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, stir in the tamarind concentrate to taste and optional chickpeas.
Heat for a few minutes, then ladle into bowls generously topped off with a crispy deep fried samosa.  
Garish with garam masala, fresh coriander and bean sprouts.  
Enjoy.
Adapted from La Emisora  de la Revolucion and you may also be interested in reading this post about Samosa Soup too.