Egyptian yellow lentil soup – Shorbet ats Ingredients 250g yellow lentils – ats 1 carrot, peeled – ga-zar 1 onion – ba-sal 1 tomato – ta-ma-tem 3 garlic cloves, peeled – tom 2 tbsp ghee or margarine – zeb-da or sam-na 3 tsp corn oil – zeit dor-a 1 liter water – may-ya cumin, according to taste – kam-moon salt and pepper – malh and fel-fel 8 loaves of Egyptian bread – ‘eysh 100g vermicelli – she'-rey-ya
Directions Cut the carrot, onion and tomato into medium pieces. Wash the lentils and drain well. Add the water to a large pan and add the lentils, carrot, onion and tomato and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the ingredients are tender. Take off the heat and set aside. Pour into a blender or and blend until the soup is creamy. Reheat the soup. Fry the vermicelli in a little oil until it turns golden. Add to the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cut the bread into bite size squares. Heat two tbsp of margarine in a large skillet. Add the bread and stir until crispy. Place the bread in a bowl and add the lentil soup on top. Serve immediately.
Note For a thicker soup add a little less water, you can always add more to reach your preferred consistency. Serve the bread on the side to ensure it stays crunchy.
