Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes

This stew is a lovely stew to make on cold nights for a family. It is also very simple to make. It is an Egyptian lentil stew, and the recipe is used a lot in the Middle East. In Arabic (the language that people speak in Egypt) this stew is called Shorbat Ads which means "lentil soup" .

Lentil soup with toasted bread

Equipment

You will need the following kitchen implements (tools such as a knife or a blender that can be found in your kitchen):

• A knife
• A cutting-board
• A large pot
• A tablespoon measure
• A large stirring spoon
• A measuring cup
• A juicer

Ingredients

• 2 onions
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 cups of water
• 1/2 pound (half lb) of red lentils
• salt (to taste) or 4 tablespoons of soup mix (you can use any kind of soup mix, or if you don't have any, you can just leave it out)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 lemon

Procedure

1. Take the two onions, and peel them. Then cut them into small pieces.
2. Place the chopped onions into your big pot, along with the 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
3. Saute (cook on low heat stirring often) the onions on low heat until they turn clear looking and slightly golden.
4. Drop the 8 cups of water into the pot with the onions.
5. Drop the lentils into the pot.
6. Carefully measure out the soup mix (if using it) and drop it into the pot.
7. Carefully measure out the cumin and the coriander and put that into the pot too.
8. Stir the stuff in the pot, the turn up the temperature of the stove to about medium heat (you want it to be slightly bubbling, but not boiling).
9. Let it cook for an hour, stirring every few minutes to make sure that it doesn't burn. You may have to turn the temperature of the stove up or down a little. Taste, and add salt if needed.
10. After 1 hour of cooking, turn off the stove and put the pot on a different burner so that it doesn't continue to cook.
11. Take your lemon, and cut it in half. Then, squeeze it on the juicer until there is no more juice in the lemon.
12. Take the juice from the lemon, and put it in the pot.
13. Stir the pot, taste, and serve! (Cumin and more fresh lemon and can be added to the bowl according to preference).