Step 1

Combine lentils, chicken stock and turmeric. Bring to a simmer. Then cover. That's important. Lentils boil over. Big mess. Cook, covered for 30 minutes.

Step 2

Add potatoes. Simmer another 30 minutes.

Step 3

Let the soup cool a bit. Then puree the lentil mixture in batches. Your blender works best. Return soup to pot. Be careful here. Make sure you are set up to release steam. You don't want to get burned. That would suck.

Step 4

Trim visible fat from the chicken. Cut into 1/3 inch chunks. Little bites really.

Step 5

Add the oil to a clean frying pan. Heat over medium heat.

Step 6

Pay attention at this point. Add the garlic ginger paste and fry, stirring constantly until the splattering stops.

Step 7

Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the spice mix and continue to stir constantly for another 30 seconds. Regulate your heat. Don't let the spices burn! You are blooming spices here. This is where the magic happens.

Step 8

Toss in the whole kashmiri chilies. Cook them around 15 seconds. Flip them. Cook another 15 seconds or so.

Step 9

Turn the heat back up to medium. Add the chicken and continue to stir. Cook chicken until almost done - about 3 minutes. Stir the whole time. It may take a little longer. I don't know your stove or your pan so it's a little hard to be precise.

Step 10

Transfer the chicken mixture to soup pot and stir it in. Simmer 3 minutes. Add lemon juice. Let it simmer another 2 minutes.

Step 11

It will probably be too thick at this point. Thin it out with some stock. You want a texture somewhere around a full-bodied cream of soup.

Step 12

Adjust seasoning (salt) to taste. To my taste another teaspoon or a bit more works. But everyone is different. Creep up on it. You can always add more salt. That's easy. Taking it away is pretty much impossible.

Step 13

Serve with a spoonful of raita or drizzle with a bit of heavy cream.