Mel and I make this soup quite often. We wanted a lentil soup and Mel came across an Alton Brown recipe that sounded fairly quick but delicious. We've modified it in a few spots in order to fix it into words but we've only really followed the recipe once. Its a good guide though. I like smelling each spice separately for a few moments before mixing all the spices together in a little bowl. Smell the resulting concoction before adding it to the soup.