Dehydrated Red Lentil Curry Soup for Backpacking

I've been making Red Lentil Curry Soup for several years now.  It is a recipe I've adapted from several recipes and now is a family favorite. 

I've spent the last week dehydrating food for our upcoming backpacking trip this July.  I definitely want good tasting and nutritious food on this trip.  Dehydrating it myself is the best way to make this happen, and save a lot of money. 

I've changed the recipe a little bit for dehydrating, switching the diced tomatoes for tomato paste.  You can cook the soup on the stove, or in an Instant Pot.  Then work hard to keep yourself from eating it right then, and spread it on dehydrator trays with fruit leather liners.

Red Lentil Curry Soup

By Barbara Spencer Frohne

Ingredients:

1 Large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 TBSP fresh ginger, minced or pressed through a garlic press

2 - 6 oz cans tomato paste

1 - 2 tsp curry powder or garam masala, depending on spice level preference

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

4 cups low sodium vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 can of coconut milk

1.5 cups of dry red lentils

2 grated carrots (optional)

2 - 3 hand fulls or more of chopped kale or spinach (Optional)

chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Salt to taste

Stove top directions:

Place all the ingredients, except the kale or spinach and cilantro, into a soup pot. On the stove, bring to a boil and then cover and simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes, until the lentils are very tender. Stir in the chopped kale or spinach, and cilantro and salt. Continue to simmer with the lid on until the greens are wilted. Remove from heat, and salt to taste.

Instant Pot directions:

Place all the ingredients, except the kale or spinach and cilantro, into the liner of your instant pot. Put on the lid. Press manual and high pressure for 8 minutes. When finished, allow it to natural release for 20 minutes, then release then carefully release the rest of the pressure. Open the lid and stir in the chopped kale or spinach, and cilantro and salt. Put the lid back on, and let it set for a few minutes. Come back and stir in a couple minutes. When they are wilted, the soup is ready. Salt to taste.

Dehydrator directions:

If you want to make your own dried soup, place scoops of the soup on your fruit letter trays, and spread.  

Then dehydrate at 135 degrees until completely dry 10 - 12 hours.

  

3/4 way through the drying time, use a thin pancake turner to flip the soup over, so that the underside can dry also.  

When the soup feels completely dry, crumble it into a large bowl.  (Realize this will stain your fruit leather trays, because of the tomato products in the soup.)

Place the dehydrated soup into small zipper bags.  Keep in the freezer to keep it fresh until you are ready to take it out on the trail.  One batch of soup makes 4 - 1 cup baggies of dehydrated soup.  I like the Great Value Square Snack Bags from Walmart.  They are light and a very convenient size. 

To re-hydrate your soup in your kitchen, or out on the trail.  Add 1/2 cup of the dry soup mix and 1 cup of boiling water to a cup.  In 2 - 4 minutes, it will be ready to eat.

 The longer it sits, the creamier it will become.