Ezogelin çorbası recipe: Turkish red lentil and bulgur soup
Ask for soup in almost any Turkish lokanta (canteen-style restaurant) and there is a good chance the pot on the counter is ezogelin. It is a red lentil soup, but a thicker, rustier, more filling one than the smooth mercimek çorbası most people know, with bulgur and a little rice giving it body and tomato and red pepper paste giving it colour.
The finish is what makes it: a spoonful of butter sizzled with dried mint and pul biber (Turkish chilli flakes) poured over each bowl, plus a squeeze of lemon at the table. The name means “Ezo the bride’s soup”, after a young woman from the Gaziantep area whose story is still told in Turkey; Wikipedia has a short entry on the soup. It costs very little to make, keeps well and tastes even better the next day.
What is ezogelin çorbası?
Ezogelin çorbası (pronounced roughly “eh-zo-geh-lin chor-ba-suh”) is a soup whose name ties it to the Gaziantep area of south-eastern Turkey, though it is now cooked all over the country. The core is red lentils cooked down until they collapse, with a smaller amount of bulgur (cracked wheat) and rice that hold their shape a little and make the soup thick enough to stand a spoon in, if you let it. The Turkish food magazine Lezzet publishes its own version in English if you want to compare methods.
The story behind the name belongs to Ezo, a bride from the Gaziantep area whose hard life became a folk legend, retold many times, including in a 2006 television series. Whether she ever cooked this exact soup is anyone’s guess, but the name stuck, and today it is one of the standard soups of Turkish home cooking, alongside mercimek çorbası and yayla çorbası.
Common variations
Some cooks leave out the rice and use only bulgur; others blend half the soup for a smoother texture. Lokanta versions often use meat or chicken stock, while home cooks are just as likely to use water. The amount of chilli varies a lot from cook to cook, and the red pepper paste (biber salçası) may be the hot kind rather than the sweet.
Ingredients
Serves 4–6 as a starter or light lunch.
For the soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 20g butter
- 1 medium onion (about 150g), finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed (optional)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp red pepper paste (biber salçası), mild or hot
- 200g red split lentils, rinsed
- 50g coarse or fine bulgur
- 30g short-grain or long-grain rice, rinsed
- 1.6 litres hot vegetable or chicken stock, or water
- 1 tsp dried mint
- 1 tsp pul biber (Turkish chilli flakes), or ½ tsp regular chilli flakes
- 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
To finish
- 30g butter
- 1 tsp dried mint
- 1 tsp pul biber
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
How to make ezogelin çorbası
1. Soften the onion
Warm the olive oil and butter in a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook gently for 6–8 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned. Stir in the garlic, if using, for the last minute.
2. Fry the pastes
Add the tomato paste and red pepper paste and stir them into the onion for 1–2 minutes. Frying the pastes takes away their raw edge and turns the soup a deeper red, so do not skip it.
3. Add the lentils, bulgur and rice
Tip in the rinsed lentils, bulgur and rice and stir so every grain is coated. Pour in the hot stock or water, add the dried mint and pul biber, and bring to the boil.
4. Simmer until thick
Turn the heat down, part-cover and simmer for 30–35 minutes, stirring now and then so nothing catches on the bottom. The lentils should completely break down and the bulgur and rice should be soft. If it gets too thick, add a splash of hot water; ezogelin should pour slowly from a ladle.
5. Season and blend (optional)
Season with salt and black pepper. For a slightly smoother soup, give it a few pulses with a stick blender, keeping some texture. Many lokantas serve it unblended.
6. Make the mint butter
Just before serving, melt the butter in a small pan until it foams. Take it off the heat, stir in the dried mint and pul biber and let it sizzle for a few seconds. Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle the red butter over the top. Serve with lemon wedges.
Watch: how to make ezogelin çorbası
This video from Arda’s Ramadan kitchen on Kanal D shows the lokanta-style method step by step (in Turkish, but easy to follow).
Tips for the best ezogelin çorbası
- Rinse the lentils until the water runs almost clear; it stops the soup going grey and frothy.
- Use a heavy pan and stir regularly in the last 10 minutes, when lentil soups love to stick and burn.
- Rub the dried mint between your palms as you add it to wake up the flavour.
- The soup thickens a lot as it cools. Loosen leftovers with hot water or stock and re-season before serving.
- Squeeze the lemon in just before eating rather than cooking it in, so it stays bright.
What to serve with ezogelin çorbası
In Turkey ezogelin is a meal in itself with plenty of bread, but it also opens a bigger spread nicely. Follow it with a plate of ızgara köfte and a crisp çoban salatası, then finish with something sweet like sütlaç. For a lighter lunch, pair a bowl with haydari and warm bread. You can also find more ideas in our easy Turkish recipes round-up.
Where to eat ezogelin çorbası in London
Soup is taken seriously in London’s Turkish community, and many lokantas and çorbacı (soup houses) keep a pot of ezogelin going from breakfast onwards. Browse our Turkish soup houses in London, or see our guide to cheap Turkish food in London for more simple, filling places to eat.
- Haringey Çorbacısı – Turkish home cooking in Harringay & Green Lanes
- Çorba Dünyası – Turkish home cooking in Edmonton
- Antep Taş Fırın Edmonton – Turkish pide & lahmacun in Edmonton
- Antepliler Ciğer & Beyran – Turkish regional anatolian in Harringay & Green Lanes
- Edmonton Çorbacısı – Turkish soup house in Edmonton
- Maraş Restaurant – Turkish pide & lahmacun in Dalston & Stoke Newington
See all 8 Soup House (Çorbacı) places in London
Ezogelin çorbası FAQs
What is the difference between ezogelin and mercimek çorbası?
Both are red lentil soups. Mercimek çorbası is usually smooth and blended, often with carrot and potato, while ezogelin adds bulgur and rice, keeps more texture, and has a stronger tomato, pepper and mint flavour.
Is ezogelin çorbası vegan?
It can be. Use olive oil instead of butter in both the soup and the topping, and vegetable stock or water. The flavour stays very close to the original.
Can I make ezogelin without bulgur?
Yes. Replace the bulgur with the same weight of extra rice, or with more lentils for a gluten-free soup. It will be a little smoother but still very good.
How long does ezogelin keep?
It keeps for 3–4 days in the fridge and freezes well for up to 3 months. Freeze it without the butter topping and make that fresh when you reheat.
Photo: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
