Turkish Red Lentil Soup

justcallmetoni's Note:

Another delectable entry for the Zaar World Tour from the enticing World Vegetarian Cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey. This is simple enough to prepare midweek and comforting as the first cold air of fall arrives.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 cup red lentil , washed and cleaned
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• ¼ cup mild onion , finely chopped
• ½ cup white potato , peeled and diced
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)

Directions:

1. Place the red lentils in a colandar and rinse.
2. Sift through to remove and debris or damaged beans.
3. Place the washed and cleaned lentils into a medium pot with the stock, potatoes, onions and paprika.
4. Bring the pot to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
5. Loosely place a lid on the pot leaving slightly ajar as to allow some evaporation.
6. Cook for 40-40 minutes until the lentils are tender.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Place all but 1 cup of the soup into a blender or food processor and blend briefly.
9. Return blended soup to the pot with the reserved cup of soup.
10. Heat through.
11. Serve.

Reviews

[punkroqsk8rchic]

My family really enjoyed this soup. I doubled the recipe. Just a few tips... 1. I Sauteed the onions with butter prior to adding it to the stock. 2. I added 2 T of Cumin and chopped carrots as others suggested.
I plan on tripling the recipe next time

[pinklepurr]

I live in Turkey and this soup is often served for breakfast! Turks usually serve it with a lemon wedge or two, which you squeeze into the soup just before eating, and a dash of red pepper flakes, (or a lot - depending on your taste). The lemon adds one more layer of flavour and gives it real "zing"! For those who feel something's missing-try it! I made this last night and followed the recipe exactly, except for a little more paprika, and I added a red pepper. Yummy!

[TXOLDHAM]

We had this for lunch today as the weather has gotten very cold and this hit the spot. I did add 2 diced carrots and, as suggested by other reviews, cumin and garlic powder. Just to pep it up a little I added a small amount of cayenne pepper. I didn't have any vegetable stock so used chicken broth as suggested by another reviewer. My DH loved it even though he usually turns his nose up at Lentils. Thanks for posting.