Turkey – Corba (Red Lentil Soup)

by Muhammad Shazil

Introduction to the dish

Corba is the most famous local cuisine of Turkey. It is also known as red lentil soup. It is a delicious as well as a healthy dish. Many people like to eat this dish because of its good delicious taste. It is an easy dish that requires less than an hour to make. It is a light and spicy dish with bold red color. Red lentil soup is made with simple ingredients which are onions, carrots, crushed canned tomatoes. As you can see in the ingredients list that there is no mutton or chicken in it, so it is a purely vegetarian dish which is proved to be healthy for human health. It is a winter season dish because it gives warmness to our body. So in winter when everyone wants to get warm they prefer this kind of dishes which gives them warmness to their body. This cuisine is easily available in Turkish restaurants and other middle eastern countries. There aare many other ways of making this dish but I’ve given you the most easiest and accurate way of making it. So i you like to make this dish at home, you just have to follow my steps and your delicious red lentiil is soup is ready to make.

History and tradition of this dish

When we talk about the traditional dishes of Turkey, Corba (Red lentil soup) comes first in our mind. In Jewish tradition, the roundness of the lentil represents a complete cycle of life so this red lentil soup has been served at times of mourning over there. Lentil soup is also mentioned in the Holy Book of Christians which is the Bible so it has a unique significance in life.

Healthy facts

As I’ve told you above that it is a delicious as well as a healthy dish. In our daily life one of the main foods, we eat regularly when following legumes, includes lentils. Lentils are easy to use and are a great source of nutrition. It contains B vitamins, iron, fiber, and much other nutrition. It contains almost 25% protein, and also lentils are an excellent meat alternative. We can also imagine its healthy facts by watching its ingredients. It contains many vegetables which are a great source of protein and much other nutrition.

Ingredients

• Cooking oil 1 tbs
• (Butter) 1 tbs
• (Onion) chopped 1 medium
• (Garlic) cloves 3
• (Red chili powder) ½ tsp or to taste
• Paprika powder 1 tsp
• (Black pepper) crushed ½ tsp
• (Orange lentil gram) 1 cup (washed)
• (Potato) cubes 1/4 Cup
• (Tomato) cubes 1 medium
• (Carrot) 1/4 Cup
• Dried mint 1 tsp
• (Salt) 1 tsp or to taste
• Hot water 1 & ½ liter
• Cooking oil 1 tbs
• Tomato paste 2 tbs

Steps to make

• For making this delicious soup, first of all, take a pot and add 1 tsp cooking oil, 1 medium-sized chopped onion, 2 cloves garlic in it and mix it well.
• After that now add one cup of washed orange lentil gram in it and mix it well and cook it for at least 1 minute.

• Now add 1/4 cup potato, 1 medium tomato, 1/4 cup carrot, 1 tsp salt, in it and mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• After adding the above ingredients now add 1 & ½ liter hot water in it and then mix it well and boil it for some time.
• Now cover it with the help of a lid and cook it on low flame for 20-25 minutes then blend it well.
• Now on the other hand take a frying pan and add 1 tsp cooking oil, 1 tsp butter, 2 tsp tomato paste in it and mix it well and cook for 2 minutes.
• After cooking it for 2 minutes now add 1/2 tsp red chili powder, 1 tsp paprika powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper in it, and mix it well.
• Take out 1/4 cup of lentil soup and add it and mix it.

• Now gradually add the above-prepared tomato paste mixture to lentil soup. Mix it well and bring it to a boil.

• And in the end, garnish it with dried mint and your delicious red lentil soup is ready to eat.

Time Required

The total time required by this dish is only 50 minutes. Where 30 minutes is require just for cooking it and 20 minutes is required for preparing this dish.

Serve

You can serve this dish to almost 4-5 people and requires only 10 minutes for serving them. This dish can be served with different kinds of sauces which adds more deliciousness in it.

Additional Information

Cuisine: Turkish

Taste: Spicy

Color: Bold red color

Level of cooking: Easy