Name: Turkish Red Lentil Soup (Mercimek Çorbası)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil, or 1 tbsp oil and 15 g (1 tbsp) butter; 1 medium onion (about 150 g), chopped; 1 medium carrot (about 100 g), chopped; 1 small floury potato (about 120 g), chopped (optional); 2 garlic cloves, chopped; 1 tbsp (16 g) tomato paste; 1 tbsp (15 g) Turkish red pepper paste (biber salçası), or 1 tsp sweet paprika; 1 ½ tsp ground cumin; 200 g (1 cup) split red lentils, rinsed; 1.5 litres (6 cups) hot water or low-salt stock; 1 tsp fine sea salt; ½ tsp black pepper; 30 g (2 tbsp) butter, or 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil; 1 tsp dried mint; 1 tsp Turkish chilli flakes (pul biber); 1–2 lemons, in wedges; warm bread

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Mercimek çorbası, Turkish red lentil soup, is made from a handful of cheap pantry ingredients and takes under an hour. Red lentils, onion, carrot and a little potato simmer with tomato paste and cumin until they collapse, then everything is blended until smooth and velvety. A spoonful of butter warmed with dried mint and Turkish chilli flakes goes over the top, and each bowl gets a generous squeeze of lemon at the table.

Serves 4–6 (about 1.6 litres). Prep takes 15 minutes and cooking about 35 minutes. The soup is vegan if you finish it with olive oil instead of butter.

What makes it Turkish

Plenty of cuisines have a red lentil soup. What sets mercimek apart is the texture and the finish. It’s blended until completely smooth, almost creamy, without any cream. It’s seasoned simply, with cumin, paprika or red pepper paste and black pepper, rather than curry spices. And it’s always served with lemon wedges and usually with a sizzling red butter on top. In Turkey, it’s a lokanta (canteen) staple served as a starter, and a common first dish at iftar, the evening meal that breaks the fast during Ramadan.

Ingredients

Soup

2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil, or 1 tbsp oil and 15 g (1 tbsp) butter
1 medium onion (about 150 g), chopped
1 medium carrot (about 100 g), peeled and chopped
1 small floury potato (about 120 g), peeled and chopped (optional)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp (16 g) tomato paste
1 tbsp (15 g) Turkish red pepper paste (biber salçası), or 1 tsp sweet paprika
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
200 g (1 cup) split red lentils
1.5 litres (6 cups) hot water or low-salt vegetable or chicken stock
1 tsp fine sea salt (less if your stock is salty)
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Red butter and to serve

30 g (2 tbsp) butter, or 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
1 tsp dried mint
1 tsp Turkish chilli flakes (pul biber), or ½ tsp sweet paprika and a pinch of chilli flakes
1–2 lemons, cut into wedges
Warm bread, to serve

A few notes on ingredients

Split red lentils are essential. They’re orange-pink in the bag, turn yellow as they cook, and break down completely in about 20 minutes. Brown, green or whole lentils keep their shape and give you a different soup.

Potato is optional, but a small one gives a silkier, thicker body. Some cooks use a spoonful of rice or a tablespoon of flour cooked in the butter instead, which does the same job.

Biber salçası is a thick Turkish paste of sun-dried red peppers, sold as sweet (tatlı) or hot (acı) in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops. It adds a deeper, slightly smoky pepper flavour. Tomato paste and paprika together are a perfectly good substitute.

Dried mint is used far more than fresh in Turkish cooking. Rub it between your fingers as it goes into the butter to release its aroma.

How to make mercimek çorbası

Rinse the lentils in a sieve under cold water until the water runs almost clear. Drain.
Soften the vegetables. Heat the oil (and butter, if using) in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and potato with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, for 7–8 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent but not browned.
Add the pastes and spices. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds, then the tomato paste, pepper paste and cumin. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until the pastes darken slightly and smell sweet rather than raw.
Simmer. Add the lentils, the hot water or stock, the salt and the pepper. Bring to the boil, skim off any foam, then lower the heat, partly cover and simmer gently for 25–30 minutes, stirring now and then so nothing sticks. The soup is ready when the lentils have completely fallen apart and the carrot and potato crush easily against the side of the pot.
Blend. Take the pot off the heat and blend with a stick blender until completely smooth, or blend in batches in a jug blender, filling it no more than half full and holding the lid down with a tea towel. Hot liquid expands as it blends.
Adjust. Return to a low heat. If it’s thicker than double cream, add hot water a splash at a time. Taste and add salt as needed. Lentil soup usually needs more than you expect.
Make the red butter. Just before serving, melt the butter in a small pan over low heat until it foams. Take it off the heat, stir in the chilli flakes and crumbled mint, and let it sizzle for 15–20 seconds. Don’t let the mint or chilli burn, or they’ll turn bitter.
Serve. Ladle the soup into bowls, spoon a little red butter over each, and serve with lemon wedges and bread. A good squeeze of lemon is part of the dish.

Getting the texture right

Good mercimek is smooth, pourable and fairly thick, like a thin purée. If it sets into a paste in the bowl, it’s too thick. The soup also keeps thickening as it stands, so make it a little thinner than you want to eat it. For the silkiest result, blend for a full minute or two. Some cooks also push it through a sieve, but with a good blender that isn’t necessary.

Mistakes to avoid

Browning the onion. Keep the heat moderate. You want a sweet, clean base, not a caramelised one, so the soup stays bright orange.
Under-salting. Lentils and potato absorb a lot of salt. Season, blend, then taste again.
Burning the butter. The finishing butter takes seconds. Have it ready at the end, off the heat.
Skipping the lemon. Without acid the soup tastes flat. Squeeze it in at the table.
Letting it catch. Red lentils sink and can stick to the bottom of the pot. Stir every few minutes as it simmers.

Variations

Ezogelin çorbası: a heartier cousin made with red lentils, a little fine bulgur and rice, tomato and pepper paste, and plenty of dried mint. It’s left with some texture rather than blended smooth.
With stock: chicken stock gives a rounder flavour; vegetable stock or water keeps it vegan and lighter.
Spicier: use hot pepper paste and more pul biber in the butter.
Croutons: small cubes of bread fried in butter are a classic topping in many Turkish homes.

For a heartier North African cousin, try Moroccan harira, which adds chickpeas, tomato and vermicelli.

Make ahead, storage and reheating

The soup keeps in a covered container in the fridge for 4 days and freezes well for up to 3 months. Leave the red butter off until serving. It thickens considerably as it cools, often setting firm, so reheat it gently over medium-low heat with a splash of water, stirring until smooth and steaming. Make fresh red butter and cut fresh lemon wedges each time. Our make-ahead, storage and freezing guide has more on cooling soups quickly and thawing them safely.

Serving ideas

In Turkey mercimek is usually a starter followed by a main course, but with bread it’s filling enough for a light meal. For a Turkish-style spread at home, follow it with our oven-baked chicken doner kebab, or serve it alongside a crunchy salad such as our Mediterranean chickpea salad. Warm pide, simit or any crusty loaf is good for dipping, and a few pickles or a plate of sliced radishes, cucumber and spring onions add crunch.

A note on background

Lentils have been grown in Anatolia for thousands of years, and lentil soups appear throughout the region’s cooking. Mercimek çorbası in its modern, smooth form is everyday food rather than a special-occasion dish. You’ll find it in workers’ canteens, motorway service stations and family kitchens across Turkey, and it’s one of the first soups many Turkish home cooks learn. Recipes differ from family to family, with more or less carrot, potato or rice, and stock or water, but the lemon and red butter at the end are almost universal.

Can’t find pul biber? Our world pantry guide lists the closest swaps.

Common questions

Do I need to soak the lentils? No. Split red lentils cook quickly without soaking. A good rinse is enough; it washes off dust and some of the starch that makes the pot foam.

Can I make it without a blender? Yes. Red lentils fall apart on their own, so once everything is soft, whisk the soup hard for a minute or crush the carrot and potato with a potato masher. It won’t be as velvety, but it’s still good. For a smoother result without a blender, push it through a sieve with the back of a ladle.

Why is my soup brownish rather than orange? Usually the onion browned, the tomato paste went too dark, or the stock was a dark one. Keep the onion soft and pale, cook the pastes only until they smell sweet, and use water or a light stock. Green or brown lentils will also give a duller colour.

I only have brown or green lentils. Can I use them? Not for this soup; they keep their shape and won’t give the smooth, creamy texture. Save them for a dish where you want the lentils whole, such as our vegan lentil shepherd’s pie.

Is it gluten-free? The soup itself is made from naturally gluten-free ingredients, but check the label on your stock, and serve it with gluten-free bread if needed. The ezogelin variation contains bulgur, which is wheat.