Egyptian
Vegan
Gluten freeShorbet ads (Egyptian lentil soup)
شوربة عدس (shorbet ads): velvety yellow lentil soup with cumin, lemon and toasted bread
Cairo cafés ladle shorbet ads all winter long, and at home it is the soup that opens the iftar meal in Ramadan, served smooth and golden with lemon wedges and crisp bread. Split yellow lentils are cooked with carrot, onion, tomato and cumin, then blended until velvety, with no cream at all. Serve it with lemon to squeeze and toasted pitta (leave the bread out for gluten free). The common mistake is under-cooking the lentils so the soup turns grainy; they should fall apart before you blend. Chef's tip: finish each bowl with a few drops of cumin-fried oil; it smells like an Egyptian kitchen in January.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Serves
- 4
- Per serving
- 290 kcal
Ingredients
- 9 oz split yellow lentilsrinsed (or split red lentils)
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onionchopped
- 1 carrotchopped
- 1 ripe tomatochopped
- 2 garliccloves
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1.3 litre water
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 lemoncut into wedges
- 1 tbsp olive oil (optional)warmed with a pinch of cumin, to finish
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Search Amazon for the rest
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Warm 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a large pan over a medium heat and soften 1 onion, 1 carrot and 2 garlic until the onion is translucent.
6 minStep 2: Add 1 ripe tomato and 1 ½ tsp ground cumin and stir for a minute.
1 minStep 3: Add 9 oz split yellow lentils and 1.3 litre water, bring to the boil, skim off the foam, then simmer partly covered until the lentils have collapsed completely and the carrot is soft.
30 minStep 4: Blend until smooth with a stick blender. Season with 1 ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp black pepper and add hot water if it's thicker than double cream.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 16 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 8 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does shorbet ads (Egyptian lentil soup) take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of carrot?
- Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Miso soup
Miso soup (味噌汁) is drunk every day in homes all over Japan, at breakfast as well as dinner, beside a bowl of rice. The base is dashi; this vegan version uses kombu and dried shiitake instead of bonito, which gives it a deep, rounded flavour. Silken tofu and wakame seaweed are the classic fillings. It takes ten minutes; just remember not to boil the miso. Chef's tip: add the miso at the very end and never let it boil. Boiling kills the miso's fresh, fermented aroma; Japanese cooks say the soup should only 'smile', with the surface barely trembling.
JapanesePerfect for:RamadanWinter warmers