• Wash and soak the red lentils for 15 minutes prior to cooking.
• In the meantime, prep your vegetables. Chop onions, carrots, cilantro and scallions. Keep them aside. Mince garlic.
• If you don't have shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken, follow instructions below to poach and shred chicken breasts.
• In a medium pot, add the lentils with sufficient water and cook on medium high until the lentils are cooked fully. It should break easily once fully cooked. Keep it aside.
• In another large pot, heat olive oil. Now add minced garlic and sauté for a minute, until the raw aroma disappears. Next add the onions and cook until translucent and soft.
• Now add the chopped carrots and cook for another 3-4 minutes before adding all the spices: red chili powder (or paprika), turmeric & cumin. Give it a quick stir.
• Next add the tomato paste and chicken broth to dissolve the paste. Bring this to a boil.
• Add the cooked red lentils and chicken broth. The amount of broth depends on the consistency of soup you'd like. For a thicker soup use about 4 cups and for thinner consistency use around 5-6 cups. Bring it to a boil. Stir occasionally.
• Once boiling, add the shredded chicken and let the soup boil for another 5-7 minutes before removing from heat. Season with salt & pepper.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro and green onions. Enjoy with bread or dinner rolls!

How to poach Chicken breast

• Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place them in a large pan/ pot. The breasts should cover the base of the pan. Don't overlap of over crowd.
• Now add sufficient water to just cover the chicken (breasts should be completely submerged in water).
• On a medium high heat, bring it to a boil. Once boiling, maintain a medium heat and let it boil for another 8-12 minutes or until the chicken breast are well cooked.
• Once cooked, discard the water and let the chicken cool before shredding/ dicing.
• Use as desired.