Turkey • Regional Dish • Soup

Mercimek Çorbası (Turkish Lentil Soup)

This Turkish red lentil soup is smooth, warming, and simple, with a bright lemon finish and a quick mint-pepper drizzle on top.

Servings4

Prep Time10 min

Cook Time30 min

DifficultyEasy

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Ingredients

US Metric

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 small potato, chopped

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp sweet paprika

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, or to taste

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

4 cups hot water

For finishing

2 tbsp olive oil or melted butter

1 tsp dried mint

1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper or mild chili flakes

Lemon wedges, for serving

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 small potato, chopped

200 g red lentils, rinsed

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp sweet paprika

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, or to taste

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 litre hot water

For finishing

2 tbsp olive oil or melted butter

1 tsp dried mint

1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper or mild chili flakes

Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and potato, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned.
Add the lentils, tomato paste, paprika, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Stir for 1 minute to coat everything well.
Pour in the hot water and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam if needed, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until the lentils and vegetables are very soft.
Blend the soup until smooth with an immersion blender. Add a splash more hot water if it feels too thick. Simmer for 2 minutes more.
In a small pan, heat the olive oil or melted butter with the dried mint and Aleppo pepper for 20 to 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
Ladle the soup into bowls and spoon over a little of the mint oil. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Cultural Context

Turkish lentil soup shows up everywhere from home kitchens to lokantas and kebab houses, often as a starter but sometimes as the whole comfort-food event. The classic plain red lentil version is distinct from ezogelin çorbası, which usually adds bulgur and rice. A squeeze of lemon at the table is common, and the mint-chili drizzle is one of those little finishing moves that makes a simple soup feel complete rather than merely polite.

Fun Fact

Turkey has more than one famous lentil soup. Mercimek çorbası is the smoother, simpler classic, while ezogelin adds bulgur and rice for a heartier texture.

Cook’s Tip

This soup is the smoother everyday mercimek çorbası style, not ezogelin, which usually includes bulgur or rice and a more built-up spice profile. Turkish cooks often use red lentils with onion, sometimes carrot or potato, then finish with lemon and a quick drizzle of oil or butter, scented with mint and pepper.
If you want a looser restaurant-style soup, add a little more hot water after blending. Don’t skip the lemon at the table, because it wakes up the whole dish with a zing.

Trivia

Many Turkish cooks finish lentil soup with hot oil or butter, briefly infused with dried mint and red pepper flakes, then serve it with lemon on the side.

About This Recipe

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Mercimek Çorbası (Turkish Lentil Soup)

Instructions

Cultural Context

Fun Fact

Cook’s Tip

Trivia

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