The recipe of Black Sea Merchimek Chorba is very simple but the final taste is delicious.

The main secret of Black Sea Merchimek Chorba is the quality of ingredients, especially of Red lentils.

Serves 3-4

Course – Soup

Preparation time – 20 minutes Cooking time – 30 minutes

1 cup Red Lentils

8 cups water

4 tbsp of olive oil (or butter)

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 onions chopped

2 carrots chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp of black pepper

1 tbsp red paprika powder for Topping Sauce

Lemon cut in wedges for serving

Preparation stage of Black Sea Merchimek Chorba is very simple. Wash the Red lentils in a strainer and rinse well. Keep a side.

Cooking stage of this dish is also very simple. Saute onions until golden in a pot at heated olive oil. Add tomato paste and cook for one minute. Add chopped carrots and cook for a few minutes.

Add the Red lentils and black pepper. Add enough water. Stir the mix for 5 minutes at medium heat, close the lid and bring to boil. Red lentils absorb a lot of water and that’s why add enough water to the soup. Simmer covered mixture for about 20 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 10 minutes until the lentils are fully cooked. Blend the soup by blender.

For making the soup topping sauce saute in a small saucepan the red paprika powder in the olive oil for 1 minute.  Ladle the soup into small soup bowls and sprinkle some of the topping sauce into each one. Serve with wedge cut lemon.

Black Sea Merchimek Chorba should be warm at serving and not prepared in advance. Traditionally it served hot immediately after cooking.

You can enjoy Black Sea Merchimek Chorba with friends and family in #BlackSeaCuisine restaurants or at home as it is easy to prepare yourself.

Black Sea Cuisine is simple, tasty and inexpensive.