Middle Eastern recipe

Turkish Red Lentil Soup (Mercimek Çorbası)

Name: Turkish Red Lentil Soup (Mercimek Çorbası)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Middle Eastern cuisine
Ingredients: 250 g red lentils, picked over and rinsed; 1 medium yellow onion, diced; 1 carrot, peeled and diced; 1 small russet potato, peeled and diced; 45 ml olive oil; 30 g tomato paste; 1.2 L vegetable or chicken broth; 5 g ground cumin; 3 g sweet paprika; 8 g fine salt and black pepper; 1 lemon, cut into wedges; 40 g butter and Aleppo pepper for the finishing drizzle

Red lentils simmer with onion, carrot, potato and gentle spices, then blend into a velvety soup finished with lemon and a vivid paprika-butter drizzle.

Türkiye, everyday lokanta soup

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 30 min
Total: 45 min
Servings: 6

Velvety Turkish red lentil soup with paprika butter and lemon — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by E4024Source page · Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

250 g
red lentils, picked over and rinsed
1
medium yellow onion, diced
1
carrot, peeled and diced
1
small russet potato, peeled and diced
45 ml
olive oil
30 g
tomato paste
1.2 L
vegetable or chicken broth
5 g
ground cumin
3 g
sweet paprika
8 g
fine salt and black pepper
1
lemon, cut into wedges
40 g
butter and Aleppo pepper for the finishing drizzle

Method

01
Rinse the lentils
Rinse the lentils in a fine sieve until the water runs mostly clear. Drain well while you prepare the vegetables.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Soften the aromatics
Heat olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and potato and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent and the vegetables begin to soften.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Toast tomato paste and spices
Stir in tomato paste, cumin and paprika. Cook briefly while stirring so the paste darkens slightly and the spices smell fragrant.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Simmer the lentils and broth
Add rinsed lentils and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a steady simmer and cook until the lentils, carrot and potato are completely tender.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Blend until velvety
Blend the soup with an immersion blender until smooth, keeping the blender head submerged to avoid splashes. Thin with hot broth if needed.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Make paprika butter and serve
Melt butter in a small pan, add Aleppo pepper and stir until the butter turns orange-red. Ladle soup into bowls, drizzle with the butter and serve with lemon.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Rinse red lentils until the water is nearly clear to remove dust and keep the soup flavor clean.
Blend only after the vegetables and lentils are fully tender, then loosen with hot broth to the texture you like.

Common mistakes

Acid added too early can slow lentil softening; finish with lemon just before serving.
An immersion blender held above the liquid can splatter hot soup; submerge the head before switching it on.

Substitutions

Vegetable broth keeps the soup vegetarian; chicken broth makes it fuller without changing the Turkish spice profile.
Yellow lentils can replace red lentils, but simmer until fully soft before blending.

Storage

Cool promptly and refrigerate within 2 hours at 0–4°C; use within 3 days and reheat until steaming throughout.

Cultural context

Mercimek çorbası is a familiar Turkish red-lentil soup served in homes and lokantas. Thickness and garnish vary; this version blends lentils and vegetables smooth and finishes with pepper butter and lemon.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Mercimek çorbası.jpg — Photograph by E4024; CC BY-SA 4.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Middle Eastern recipes

Turkish Red Lentil Soup (Mercimek Çorbası)

Ingredients

Method

Rinse the lentils

Soften the aromatics

Toast tomato paste and spices

Simmer the lentils and broth

Blend until velvety

Make paprika butter and serve

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

More Middle Eastern recipes

Creamy Hummus with Tahini

Levantine Chickpea Falafel

Lebanese Mujadara with Crispy Onions