Kurdish Lentil Soup Recipes

MIDDLE EASTERN LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in a pan and gently fry the chopped onions for 5 minutes.
• Add the chopped garlic, turmeric and cumin and continue cooking for a few minutes more.
• Stir in the lentils, add the stock and cook for 35 minutes. Stir several times during cooking, especially towards the end, to prevent lentils from sticking to base of pan.
• Toss in parsley, stir in lemon juice and leave to cook for 2-3 minutes more.
• No blending is necessary unless you want it really smooth.
• Serve with chunks of crusty bread.

TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP WITH MINT

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Cook and stir the onion in the hot oil until it begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir the garlic into the onion and cook another 2 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes to the onion mixture; continue to cook and stir another 10 minutes.
• Pour in the chicken stock, red lentils, bulgur, rice, tomato paste, paprika, cayenne pepper, and mint to the tomato mixture; season with salt and black pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook at a simmer until the the lentils and rice are cooked through, about 30 minutes.
• Pour the soup into a blender to no more than half full. Firmly hold the lid in place and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth; pour into your serving dish. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup in cooking pot.

LEBANESE-STYLE RED LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Bring chicken stock and lentils to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 3 minutes.
• Stir onions into the lentils and season with cumin and cayenne. Continue simmering until the lentils are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Carefully puree the soup in a standing blender, or with a stick blender until smooth. Stir in cilantro and lemon juice before serving.

KURDISH LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Put shelled yellow or red lentils in a medium heavy pot, and cover with cold water by 3 or 4 inches (about 10 cups).
• Bring to a quick boil, skimming froth as needed.
• Lower heat to low and let simmer, covered, until lentils are thoroughly cooked, about 30 minutes.
• For a creamy texture, whisk the mixture with a whip until smooth, a few minutes.
• Add salt, black pepper, curry powder, and broken vermicelli noodles.
• Stir well.
• Keep simmering and stir occasionally to prevent soup from sticking to the bottom of the pot until soup is nicely thickened, about 15 minutes.

KURDISH SPICY LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Combine the lentils, wheat berries, chickpeas, and 2 quarts of water in a large pot.
• Cover, bring to a boil, and skim carefully.
• Add the vegetables, tomato paste, and hot peppers.
• Cook, covered, for 1 hour.
• Add the salt and cook 30 minutes longer, or until the chickpeas are fully cooked. Serves 6.