Whenever I’m stressed out or dealing with a family emergency, I set the pressure cooker on the top of the stove and make soup.
The soup-making keeps me preoccupied. Eating the hot, comforting soup calms me down a little. For a few moments it’s all good, as they say.
For times like this, I always keep certain shelf-stable items on hand so that I can make a tasty soup at a moment’s notice when it feels like there’s really nothing in the house to eat. Among these pantry items are the ingredients listed below.
The soup came out particularly tasty…a good thing ’cause I just looked over and see that the radiator has started dripping again…
Yellow Split Pea Soup with Indian Flavors
Makes about 3 quarts (freezes well)
7 cups water
1 heaping tablespoon vegetable broth paste (or use chicken base, if you prefer)
2 heaping teaspoons Patak’s curry paste (mild or hot, to your taste)
1 can (14 oz) light coconut milk
1 can (14.5 oz) diced fire-roasted tomatoes with green chilis (with liquid)
1 pound yellow or green split peas
Salt to taste
Optional: 1 cup frozen corn
1/2-1 cup frozen edamame
Pour the water into the cooker and set over high heat. Stir in vegetable broth paste and curry paste until dissolved. Stir in coconut milk, tomatoes, and split peas.
Lock the lid in place and bring up to high pressure. Lower the heat to maintain high pressure and cook for 10 minutes. Allow the pressure to come down naturally, about 10 minutes.
Unlock and remove the lid. Stir well. Add salt to taste and stir in corn and edamame, if using. Simmer until frozen vegetables are tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
PRESSURE COOKING WITH LORNA SASS 
HI Lorna
I just made this yesterday and it was incredible!!! I also added a spoon of cumin seeds and fennel seeds since you often add those in your other recipes and used about two tablespoons of curry mix rather than teaspoons so it was richer but so good!!! I added frozen roasted corn from Trader Joes and some edamame beans too and it was delicious. Will you re-release Vegeterian under pressure cookbook soon as Vegan under pressure? I am also curious if you found any new pre-made sauces mixes from TJs or other sources such as Pataks that you found make good curry’s (Indian or Thai). Thanks again for this delicious recipe
By: Ika on March 14, 2010
at 1:21 PM
Glad you liked it! My sweetie introduced me to a variety of hot Indian pickles, especially lime pickle. We often stir a little in after releasing the pressure to add heat and a layer of citric flavor, even in non-Indian dishes. I also find that a tablespoon of storebought tapenade or pesto can be wonderful at the end.
Unfortunately my publisher doesn’t seem keen on changing the book title to vegan any time soon…
By: lornasass on March 14, 2010
at 7:11 PM
Everything else has been so good, I am about to try this one. It sounds wonderful and I can use the “comfort”.
w
By: wendy ormond on March 15, 2010
at 7:00 AM
Pls let me know if you are comforted by it!
By: lornasass on March 15, 2010
at 7:32 AM