Ezogelin soup (ezogelin çorbası) is a wonderfully comforting traditional Turkish soup. Made with red lentils and bulgur and brightened up with lemon, it's hearty and flavorful yet relatively simple. Perfect on a cold day.
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As a Scot, soups are definitely hold a bit of a special place, being a great frugal way to use up foods, as well as perfect for a cooler climate. Soups are also popular in Turkish culture, and this wonderful Turkish lentil soup is a favorite. And once you try it, you'll soon see why.
You'll find two main types of lentil soup in Turkish cuisine - one is a more typical smoother, blended soup, while this one is more textured. Alongside lentils, it also has bulgur wheat and rice, or sometimes just one or the other.
But the big thing for me is the flavorings. While the tomato and onion are more typical, it also has dried mint, pepper and lemon that give it a lot more depth of flavor and a certain freshness. While it's filling, it doesn't feel heavy, just tasty and comforting.
Origins of ezogelin soup
"Ezogelin" can also be written as ezo gelin as it means "Ezo the bride". It's a soup named after what seems like a folkloric character, but was apparently a real person in the early 20th century. The story has a few variations, but is broadly as follows.
Ezo was a girl from a small village near Gazientep in southeast Turkey. She was beautiful but was married young and while initially happy, the marriage turned sour. After divorcing, she went on to re-marry. As a less desirable divorcee, she made this soup to win over her in-laws-to-be.
It worked, but her troubles didn't end since she ended up being in Syria and unable to travel to Turkey and deeply missed her family and homeland. She died unhappy of tuberculosis in her 40s.
Quite how much is fact or not is hard to say, but she inspired songs, a movie and this soup bears her name. And the soup is a firm favorite in Turkey, both to make at home and eating out.
Unlike many other lentil soups, this one is naturally vegan but has plenty flavor from some of the other ingredients used in there.
Ingredients in this Turkish lentil and bulgur soup
This soup has a relatively short list of ingredients that are mostly everyday and ones you likely have already.
- Red lentils - while you could use other kinds, and you do sometimes see this with yellow split peas, red lentils are the most common here. They cook quickly and give a lovely color to the end soup.
- Bulgur wheat - this is a popular ingredient in the region and a core part of salads like kisir. Use the cracked bulgur rather than whole grains which take longer to cook.
- Rice - not all recipes use rice so you can skip or replace with more lentils or bulgur if you like, but it's nice for variety and is a little lighter.
All of the above ingredients need rinsed before cooking to remove excess starch and in case of any dirt etc that may have accidentally got in there. You can rinse all together to make things easier.
- Onion - this gives the aromatic base to the soup. You sauté them until soft and gently sweet. Some recipes also add in some garlic for added flavor, but it's less typical so add or not as you prefer.
- Tomato paste (tomato puree in UK) - this adds flavor and adds to the lovely red color.
- Pepper paste - this is a common ingredient in Turkish cooking and you can often find both a sweeter and spicy version. It adds a lovely depth of flavor to the soup. You can use either, as you prefer, here. It can be harder to find but you can find it in more specialist shops and online. Alternatively, use more tomato paste and some ground Aleppo pepper.
- Dried mint - this is the one other ingredient that can be a little harder to find, but is well worth hunting down. It adds a wonderful aromatic flavor and keeps well to use for this and other dishes. It's great in stews and eg lamb kofta when you don't have fresh mint on hand.
- Lemon - this adds a wonderful freshness to the soup and really perks up the flavor. You add it at the end so all that great zestiness stays in there.
The process to make this soup is really easy, as you simply soften the onion, then add the aromatics (tomato and pepper pastes, dried mint). Cook briefly to bring out the flavors then add the lentils, bulgur, rice and water. Leave everything to simmer and the grains to become tender, then squeeze in the lemon and serve.
How to serve this soup
In Turkey this would most typically be an appetizer dish, but it also makes a great lunch. The traditional way to serve this is with a slice of lemon on the side so that you can add more lemon juice to taste. The extra fresh flavor is always good, in my opinion!
In terms of garnishes, a little chopped parsley adds to the freshness and gives a pop of color but you can easily skip.You can also make a simple aromatic oil (or butter) to add on top, too, as I did here. Simply warm some olive oil and add some paprika or Aleppo pepper/pul bibir and a little dried mint. Let them become aromatic then set aside.
Instead of oil you can use butter, similar to how you serve çilbir (Turkish eggs with yogurt sauce). Both versions add an extra burst of flavor and color drizzled on top of the soup.
This soup is nice and hearty with a great mix of ingredients so doesn't need a whole lot with it. However you can serve it with some bread to dip in and soak in the flavors.
If you have leftovers, this soup freezes well and simply needs defrosted and warmed through to enjoy. You might want to add a little extra lemon juice to brighten the flavor.
Ezogelin soup is a wonderfully flavorful Turkish lentil and bulgur soup that's easy to make and easy to enjoy. The bright flavors from the lemon and mint in particular really brighten the flavor, keeping it light while still being hearty. Delicious any excuse.
Try these other comforting soups:
- Lablabi (another vegan soup/stew that's not lacking in flavor - this Tunisian chickpea dish is flavored with cumin, garlic and lemon)
- Sopa de lima (this Mexican soup is bright from lime, and hearty with chicken and tortilla strips)
- German pancake soup (yes, pancakes in the soup! A simple broth with pancake noodles - easy and so comforting).
- Plus get more Turkish recipes and lunch recipes in the archives.
Ezogelin soup (Turkish lentil bulgur soup)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup red lentils
- 3 tablespoon bulgur wheat cracked rather than whole grains
- 3 tablespoon rice
- ½ onion large, or 1 small (½ large being 1 cup chopped)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or a little more as needed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste UK- tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon pepper paste see notes
- 2 teaspoon dried mint
- 4 ¼ cups water or a little more as needed
- a little salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 lemon juice only
To serve (optional)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or can use butter
- 1 teaspoon paprika or Aleppo pepper/pul biber
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- lemon wedges, to serve
Instructions
- Rinse the lentils, bulgur and rice well, either in a bowl then draining, repeating as needed, or place in a sieve and rinse under running water. Either way, be sure to move the grains around with your hands to help the starches come out.
- Finely chop the onion. Warm the oil in a medium pot/pan over a medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring now and then, until softened and translucent. Try not to let it brown - if needed, add a little extra olive oil and/or reduce the heat.
- Once the onion is soft, add the tomato and pepper pastes and mint. Cook for a minute or two until aromatic. Add the water, washed lentils, bulgur and rice and mix in so the tomato/pepper paste mixture breaks up and is well mixed into the water. Add a little salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and cover and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes until the lentils, rice and bulgur are all very tender.
- If you'd like to add the aromatic oil to serve, warm the oil towards the end of the soup cooking over a medium-low heat in a small skillet/frying pan. Once gently warm, add the paprika and mint. Stir for a few seconds then turn off heat. Leave the flavors to mix into the oil and become aromatic.
- Once the lentils etc are tender, remove soup from heat. If needed, add a little extra hot water to thin out if it seems too thick. Add the juice from the lemon and mix in (you may not need all, depending how juicy the lemon is and depending on your tastes). Adjust salt and pepper, if needed, then serve, topped with the aromatic oil and lemon wedges on the side. You can also add a little chopped parsley on top.
Notes
Nutrition
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