Maraq Misir (Red Lentil Soup)
Published Sept. 12, 2024
- Total Time
- 55 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 1large white onion, peeled and finely diced
- 3medium Roma tomatoes, diced
- 1cup red lentils, rinsed
- 1small carrot, peeled and finely diced
- ½cup cilantro leaves, rinsed
- 5 to 6garlic cloves, minced
- 4teaspoons xawaash (see Tip)
- 1½teaspoons fine sea salt
- Muufo or cooked white rice (optional), for serving
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a medium pot over medium, heat the oil until rippling, about 1 minute. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 7 or 8 minutes.
- Step 2
When the onions have softened, stir in the tomatoes and cover. Cook the tomatoes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to break down completely, about 6 minutes.
- Step 3
When the tomatoes have cooked down, add the lentils, carrot, cilantro, garlic, xawaash and salt. Top with 4 cups of warm water and cover. Cook the soup, stirring occasionally, until all the lentils are starting to fall apart and the vegetables have become soft, about 25 minutes.
- Step 4
If desired, pulse the soup in a blender once or twice until the texture is half smooth and half chunky. Serve with a flatbread like muufo or over rice, if desired. Maraq misir can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
- To prepare your own xawaash blend, add 8 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom to a small nonstick pan. Toast over low heat, stirring continuously, for 1 minute or until the spice mix becomes fragrant, then stir in 1 teaspoon ground turmeric. Makes 4 tablespoons.
Private Notes
Comments
I make something similar to this. Rather than using xawaash, I simply add pepper, cumin, coriander, and turmeric toward the end of the vegetable saute, and saute the spices with the vegetables a bit before adding tomatoes (canned and a bit more than in this recipe). Giving it a somewhat more Indian flavor, I also add a knob of peeled grated ginger. An immersion blender makes the blending task easy (just be careful with hot soup). Also I usually add a small diced peeled potato.
Re: quantity of spice mix got you feeling the feelings? I made half the amount as described in the ‘tip’ and just used all that it made. Increased the lentils by 1/4c and increased the liquid by 1 c and it turned out great. This was still a reasonable amount for 4 servings. I loved this dish, by the way.
Love this recipe. I’m always fascinated by how recipes from around the Indian Ocean combine various spices reflecting thousands of years of trade and cultural interaction across the ocean. The flavors of this dish have so much in common with dishes from southern India.
Made as is, but with 3 small carrots. Delicious. Spices are milder the second day. So best to eat the day you make it.
Made this exactly as recipe called and it was delicious. I made half the amount of xawaash so there wasn’t too much left over. Flavors are perfect.
@Rebecca Canned Italian plum tomatoes are great in this wonderful recipe. Avoid diced tomatoes since they are processed with a stabilizer that helps the pieces retain their cubular shape whereas whole plum tomatoes that you slice yourself meld beautifully with the onions, lentils and carrots.
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