Egyptian · Lunch

Shorbat Adas

Yellow lentil soup, smooth as cream, with a hard squeeze of lemon at the end. The first thing you are given in Egypt.

45 min total Serves 4 servings Easy
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Shorbat Adas

Photograph credit: al fanar shorbat dajaj & shorabat adas by goodiesfirst · CC BY 2.0 · Flickr

What to Put on the Table With Shorbat Adas

  • Toasted pitta
  • Pickled vegetables
  • Baladi bread

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Roz Mermah, Egyptian Rice with Vermicelli, Eish Merahrah.

How to Make Shorbat Adas

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  1. Warm 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat.

  2. Add the onion and carrot and cook 6 minutes, until soft but not coloured.

  3. Stir in 1 tsp of the cumin and all the ground coriander and cook 1 minute.

  4. Add the lentils, potato, stock and salt.

  5. Bring to a boil, then simmer 25 minutes, until the lentils have collapsed and the potato is falling apart.

  6. Blend until completely smooth, adding hot water if it is thicker than double cream.

  7. Warm the last tbsp of oil in a small pan with the remaining cumin for 30 seconds, until it smells toasted.

  8. Stir most of the cumin oil into the soup and keep the rest for the top.

  9. Taste and adjust the salt.

  10. Ladle out, drizzle with the reserved oil, scatter with coriander and serve with lemon wedges to squeeze in.

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A Few Notes

The potato is what makes it velvety, not cream.

Blend longer than you think; grainy means unfinished.

Lemon at the table, not in the pan.

Keeping What's Left

Refrigerate up to 4 days, freeze up to 3 months. It thickens; loosen with water to reheat.

Shorbat Adas Nutrition Facts

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

496Calories
24gProtein
64gCarbs
16gFat
9gFibre
9gSugar
1030mgSodium

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Compiled by Turab

Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.

First published ; last changed .