Mercimek Çorbası Turkey’s Red Lentil Soup With a Butter and Paprika Drizzle

Mercimek Çorbası: Turkey’s Red Lentil Soup With a Butter and Paprika Drizzle

Byorevia
Prep10 minutes
Cook30 minutes
Serves4
Total40 min
2 min readJump to Recipe ↓

Mercimek çorbası is the soup you find at nearly every Turkish restaurant, often served first with bread and a lemon wedge. It is made with very ordinary things: red lentils, onion, carrot and potato. A spoon of paprika butter at the end makes it special.

In This Guide
  1. Did You Know?
  2. Ingredients
  3. Method
  4. Common Mistakes to Avoid
  5. Storage and Reheating
  6. Quick Answers

Did You Know?

Mercimek corbasi is one of the most common soups in Turkey and is often the first thing served in a traditional lokanta (home-style restaurant). It is typically brought with a lemon wedge on the side, and finished with a pul biber (chilli flake) butter on top.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup red lentils (masoor dal), rinsed
  • 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 small potato, chopped
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp cumin powder, salt, black pepper
  • 4 cups water or vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp oil or butter
  • To finish: 2 tbsp butter, 1 tsp paprika (or Kashmiri chilli), lemon wedges

Method

  1. Heat oil in a pot and cook the onion for 4 minutes until soft.
  2. Add the tomato paste and stir for 1 minute.
  3. Add lentils, carrot, potato, cumin, salt, pepper and water. Bring to a boil.
  4. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until everything is soft.
  5. Blend with a hand blender until smooth. Add hot water if too thick.
  6. In a small pan melt the butter, add paprika and sizzle for 20 seconds. Pour over the soup.

Serve with lemon and warm bread. A good heavy pot makes soups easy. See our triply pots.

Shop Triply Pots →

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Skipping the blend. The soup is meant to be smooth and silky.
  • Squeezing lemon in while cooking. Add it at the table so it stays fresh and bright.
  • Overcooking the red lentils until they stick. Stir now and then and add water as needed.

Storage and Reheating

Keeps for 3 days in the fridge and freezes well. It thickens, so thin with water or stock when reheating. Add lemon fresh.

Quick Answers

Do I need to soak the lentils?

Red lentils do not need soaking. A good rinse is enough.

Can I make it vegan?

Yes. Use oil instead of butter and a vegetable stock or water.

Written byorevia

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