Mercimek Çorbası (Turkish Red Lentil Soup)
مرجمک چوربا (ترکی مسور کی دال کا سوپ)
If Turkey has a national soup, this is it. Mercimek çorbası is eaten at breakfast, before lunch, to break the fast in Ramadan and as a cure for everything. It's made with the same red lentils (masoor) we use for daal, but the result is completely different: no tarka of garlic and cumin in oil, just lentils simmered with onion, carrot and a little potato, blended velvety smooth and finished with butter sizzled with and mint. Serve it with lemon wedges and bread.
- ⏱ Total: 45 min
- Prep: 10 min
- Cook: 35 min
- Easy
- Serves 5
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Heat the oil in a over medium heat and cook the onion, carrot and potato for 6–8 minutes until the onion is soft but not browned.
Stir in the and cumin and cook for 1 minute, then add the lentils and stir to coat them.
Pour in the hot water or stock with the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam, then cover and simmer for 25 minutes until the lentils and vegetables are completely soft.
Blend until completely smooth, with a stick blender in the pot or in batches in a blender. Add a little hot water if it's thicker than heavy cream, and simmer for 2 more minutes. Taste for salt.
Melt the butter in a small pan until it foams. Take it off the heat and stir in the pul biber and dried mint; it will turn red at once.
Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle over the red butter and serve with lemon wedges to squeeze in and bread.
Kitchen notes
The lemon is not optional. A good squeeze at the table brightens the soup and is how it's always eaten in Turkey.
The small potato makes the soup creamy without any flour or cream. Don't add more, or it turns starchy.
In Pakistan, use tomato paste or 2 blended tomatoes for the salça, and 2 parts paprika to 1 part crushed red chili for pul biber.
The soup of every Turkish table
Walk into any lokanta, a Turkish workers’ restaurant, at any hour and there will be a pot of mercimek çorbası on the counter. It’s the soup mothers make for sick children, the first thing many families eat at iftar, and the standard start to a cheap lunch, always with bread and a lemon wedge.
For Pakistani cooks it’s an easy first Turkish dish, because the main ingredient is already in the kitchen: the same red masoor daal we cook every week.
What makes it Turkish
- No tarka at the start. The vegetables are softened gently in olive oil or butter, without browning.
- Carrot and potato. They add sweetness and body, so the soup is creamy without cream.
- Blending. The soup is blended completely smooth.
- The butter on top. Butter heated with and dried mint, drizzled over each bowl, is the signature finish.
- Lemon at the table. Each person squeezes their own.
Pakistani pantry notes
Tomato paste works perfectly for the . For pul biber, mix 2 parts paprika or Kashmiri chili with 1 part crushed red chili. Dried mint is sold in most Pakistani spice shops; or dry fresh mint leaves in the shade for a day.
Serving
Serve hot with fresh bread or toasted simit and lemon wedges. It makes a light dinner on its own, or a starter before köfte or a pilav.
Questions people ask
How is this different from masoor daal?
Daal is cooked with turmeric, chili and a garlic-cumin tarka and eaten with rice or roti. Mercimek çorbası is a blended soup with carrot and potato, flavoured mainly with butter, mint and lemon, and eaten on its own.
Can I make it without a blender?
Yes. Cook it a little longer until the lentils fall apart, then whisk hard or press through a sieve. It will be slightly rustic but still good.
Does it freeze?
Very well, for up to 3 months. It thickens in the fridge, so add hot water when reheating, and make the butter topping fresh.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 250
- Protein
- 11 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
