Indian-Spiced Bean Soup

I made this bean soup from a recipe in Martha Stewart Living, and as much as I love bean soup, this one was just okay.  I followed the recipe exactly, but it was super spicy and bland at the same time.  Hmm, not sure what went wrong, but oh well.  Here's the recipe if anyone else wants to try.  We still ate it, we just had to add more salt and mix it with a lot of rice and pita bread for the spiciness.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon safflower oil
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons minced garlic (from 4 cloves)
• 2 tablespoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger (from a 2-inch piece)
• 1 or 2 green Thai chiles, jalapeno chiles, or other fresh chiles, finely chopped, plus more, sliced, for serving
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 can (15 ounces) peeled plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with juice
• 4 cups cooked beans, plus 2 cups cooking liquid
• Pinch of coarse salt
• Yogurt, cilantro sprigs, and pita chips, for serving

Directions

1. Heat oil in a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and golden, about 8 minutes. Add ginger, chopped chiles, and spices; cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
   
2. Stir in tomatoes and their juice, beans and their liquid, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
   
3. Coarsely mash a third of the beans in pot using a potato masher or an immersion blender; stir to blend into soup.
   
4. Top with yogurt, cilantro sprigs, and sliced chiles, and serve with pita chips.