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
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.
A good riff on a lentil soup. Used canned San Marzano tomatoes, so maybe it would be better with fresh roma tomatoes. Added a dollop of yogurt to my bowl for more body. Also added tarragon as suggested by another cook. Would use more next time and leave some fresh leaves for garnish. Good weeknight soup made up quickly.
This recipe is on very regular rotation in my kitchen and I double the quantities so my wife and I have an easy meal on hand if we’re both working late. It freezes well. Unless the fresh tomatoes are divine I sub them for excellent canned San Marzano plum tomatoes. After the soup has finished cooking I blend it until it’s uniformly smooth and serve it with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and flaky Malaysian roti straight off the pan. I am seriously considering dehydrating my next batch of this soup and dehydrating it so I can take it with me on a multi-day hiking trip.
I've made this twice and the second time was much better. I used homemade veggie stock instead of water. In addition, I cooked the onions until slightly brown and added tomato paste and lemon juice; all excellent suggestions from other commenters. I bloomed the spice mix in oil before continuing with the recipe. I did this because I thought dried spices were not to be dry roasted.