Split peas and vegetable soup with quinoa

Split peas are almost like our dals and they taste like regular dry green peas. We love the taste of these in soups. I usually make very simple soups like these for dinner.  I also add brown rice, barley, or quinoa to soups like these, so they make for a complete one-pot meal and we dont need any other sides like breads. We can also pair these soups with simple salads to make it more filling and a complete meal. Here we can also use any other lentils or legumes instead of the split peas.

Ingredients:
1. Split peas, 1 cup.
2. Cut mixed vegetables like carrots, celery, green beans etc, 1-1/2.
3. Quinoa, 1/2 cup.
4. Garlic, 2 cloves, crushed.
5. Diced tomatoes, 2 cups. (Make sure the skin of the tomatoes are peeled before dicing).
6. Tomato juice, 1 cup.
7. Any preferred seasoning mix, 1/2 teaspoon. I have used Italian seasoning mix here)
8. Dry chili flakes, 1/2 teaspoon. (optional).
9. Salt and per pepper as per taste.

Preparation:
Wash the split peas well and cook it well either by pressure cooker or stove top until tender. Heat a pot with a tablespoon of oil.  Add the crushed garlic and saute for a few seconds. Now add 4 cups of water along with the diced tomatoes, tomato juice, seasoning mix and the split peas and let it come to a boil. Now add the diced vegetables, washed quinoa and cook for 15 minutes until everything is cooked. Add salt and pepper now along with the dry chili flakes and turn off the stove.  Garnish with any preferred herbs and serve hot.