Ezogelin Corbasi (Ezogelin Soup)
Heartier than plain lentil soup, ezogelin combines red lentils, bulgur and rice in a tomato and pepper paste broth, finished with dried mint — a legendary bride's recipe from Gaziantep.
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Ingredients
1 cup (200g) split red lentils, rinsed
3 tbsp fine bulgur
2 tbsp baldo rice, rinsed
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp mild pepper paste (biber salcasi)
1 tbsp dried mint
1 tsp red pepper flakes (pul biber)
1.75 litres hot water or stock
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Lemon wedges, to serve
Instructions
- 1
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5-6 minutes until soft, then stir in the garlic for a final minute.
- 2
Add the tomato paste and pepper paste and fry, stirring, for 2 minutes until the fat turns a deep red and the pastes smell sweet.
- 3
Tip in the rinsed lentils, bulgur and rice, stir to coat, then pour in the hot water or stock.
- 4
Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30-35 minutes, stirring now and then so nothing catches, until the lentils are collapsed and the rice is very soft.
- 5
Season with salt and black pepper. The soup should be loose and pourable — thin it with a little hot water if it has thickened too much.
- 6
Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a small pan, remove from the heat and stir in the dried mint and pul biber for a few seconds until fragrant.
- 7
Pour the sizzling mint butter over the soup, stir once, and serve hot with lemon wedges and fresh pide bread.
Ezogelin corbasi carries one of the loveliest stories in Turkish cooking. It is named after Ezo the bride, a famously beautiful woman from a village near Gaziantep, who is said to have created this soup to please a hard-to-impress mother-in-law. Whatever the truth of the tale, the recipe conquered the whole country: today it is served at wedding breakfasts, in soup kitchens and on almost every lokanta menu in Turkey.
What sets it apart from classic mercimek is texture and depth. Fine bulgur and a little rice join the red lentils, so the soup stays pleasantly grainy rather than completely smooth, while tomato and pepper paste give the broth its brick-red colour. Dried mint and pul biber, added at the end, are non-negotiable — they are the signature of the dish.
All the store-cupboard heroes here — Duru lentils and bulgur, Oncu pastes, Bodrum dried mint — are available at Turkish Online Market with fast UK-wide delivery, so an authentic pot of Ezo's soup is never far away.
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