Mercimek Corbasi (Turkish Red Lentil Soup)

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Mercimek corbasi is a lentil soup dish originating from Turkey that is loved throughout the country whether in summer or winter,

It is made up of lentils along with pantry staples like carrots, onions, potatoes, plus common seasonings like paprika and mint.

The recipe is gluten free, vegan and can be enjoyed as a breakfast, lunch or light dinner.

What is Mercimek Corbasi?

Mercimek Çorbası is a very popular soup in Turkish cuisine. It is often cited as one of the Turkish peoples’ favourite soups alongside recipes such as tarhana çorbası, domates çorbası and yayla çorbası.

It is a red lentil soup seasoned that uses very few ingredients but is full of flavor from ingredients such as cumin and tomato paste/puree.

Since these types of Turkish soups are less dense compared to many other soups, they are often served as an appetizer or light evening dinners.  

It is a soup that is enjoyed in rural parts of turkey in local eateries called lokantas.

Why You Should Try Mercimek Corbasi

There are a number of reasons to give this Mercimek Corbasi recipe a try:

• Very easy to make, with everything cooked in one saucepan before a blender is used.
• Can be cooked and put on the table within 30 minutes.
• Easy to store as leftovers, making it a great meal to cook on the weekends and enjoyed in the week when you’re short of time. 
• Lots of healthy ingredients with multiple servings of vegetables.
• Great source of vegan protein, containing 19g of protein with only 302 calories.
• Vegan-friendly and gluten-free
• Contains delicious, earthy spices and authentic Turkish flavors

Mercimek Corbasi Ingredients

To make this mercimek corbasi recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients to serve 4 people:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 tbsp flour
• ½ tbsp tomato puree
• 1 ½ cups (300g) red lentils
• 6 cups (1.5L) vegetable stock
• 1 cup (200 ml) coconut milk
• 1 tsp cumin
• Salt
• Pepper
• Pinch of chili powder

How to Make Mercimek Corbasi

Step 1 – Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Meanwhile, dice the onions and peppers

Step 2 – Once the oil is warm, add the onions and carrots to the pan. Cook for roughly 5 minutes or until the onions are golden.

Step 3 – Add the cumin, flour, salt, pepper and tomato puree and cook for a further minute until the spices are fragrant.

Step 4 – Add red lentils and mix to coat in the paste. 

Step 5 – Pour over the vegetable stock and coconut milk into the pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes until the lentils have cooked.

Step 6 – Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth (or leave it chunky if you prefer).

Step 7 – Taste to season, add a pinch of chili powder and serve with yogurt, naan bread or your side of choice.

Variations of Mercimek Corbasi

Since this is a basic soup recipe, you can tweak it with somewhat ease.

• Add in potatoes – occasionally, you might see potatoes used in a Turkish lentil soup recipe. This sometimes replaces the carrot, but is often included with them. Take into consideration that adding potatoes will thicken the soup.
• Use split red lentils for a quicker soup – this recipe uses whole red lentils, which take between 15-20 minutes to cook. If you have split red lentils on hand, then these will only need 5-7 minutes to cook.
• Using water instead of vegetable stock – you can usually swap water with vegetable stock. Vegetable stock provides a lot of flavor, which is great in vegetarian or vegan soups such as mercimek corbasi. However, stock does have more sodium.
• Blending the soup vs leaving it chunky – we’ve used a hand whisk to blend the soup, but you can also leave it chunky if you don’t have one on hand.

What to Serve with Mercimek Corbasi

Since Mercimek Corbasi is a fairly protein-heavy soup, it’s a good idea to pair it with a side that’s lighter. Here are some great examples of what you can serve with it.

• Pide bread – pide bread is the traditional side dish for Mercimek Corbasi. Served warm and crispy along with some lemons on the side, they add extra depth and flavor to an already delightful dish.
• Green salads – soups and salads are a match made in heaven, particularly if you want to get more veggies into your diet. A caesar salad, although not traditional, makes for a great match. Simply start with a fresh green salad base and add your favorite vegetables. 
• Steamed vegetables – steamed vegetables are a reliable side dish, particularly if you’re cooking for more people and don’t have the time to cook other sides. Try and use fresh ingredients when possible, but if your fridge isn’t stocked, frozen veggies can work fine too.
• Roast potatoes – dipping these delicious Moroccan roast potatoes into your mercimek corbasi is simply divine.  
• Any type of bread – if you’re happy to have a carb-heavy meal, then any type of bread will work, from garlic bread to ciabatta. If you’re looking for something a little more indulgent something like a naan bread will work. As long as you can mop up all the tasty soup, most types will work!

Extra Soup Recipes

This Mercimek Corbasi soup makes for an excellent soup staple, but if you’re looking for some other healthy soups, then check these out below!

• Avgolemono Soup with Orzo
• Mediterranean White Bean Soup
• Greek Meatball Soup
• Poached Chicken and Vegetable Soup
• Butternut Squash Bell Pepper Soup

Yield: 4

Mercimek Corbasi

Print

This Mercimek Corbasi recipe is a staple red lentil soup recipe found in Turkish cuisines. It's full of flavor and light, making it a perfect appetizer or light dinner.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 tbsp flour
• ½ tbsp tomato puree/paste
• 1 ½ cups (300g) red lentils
• 6 cups (1.5L) vegetable stock
• 1 cup (200 ml) coconut milk
• 1 tsp cumin
• Salt
• Pepper
• Pinch of chili powder

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and carrots to the pan. Cook for roughly 5 minutes or until the onions are golden.
2. Add the cumin, flour, salt, pepper and tomato puree and cook for a further minute until the spices are fragrant. Add red lentils and mix to coat in the paste. 
3. Pour over vegetable stock and coconut milk in the pan and bring to boil. Simmer for 15 minutes until the lentils have swollen and softened.
4. Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth (or leave it chunky if you prefer).
5. Taste to season, add a pinch of chili powder and serve with yogurt, naan bread or your side of choice.

Notes

If you don't have a hand blender, then you can skip the blending and leave the soup chunky.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 302Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 16mgSodium 701mgCarbohydrates 36gFiber 7gSugar 12gProtein 19g

Want More Delicious, Mediterranean Style Recipes?

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