Turkish lentil soup

The weather is lovely.. Cold and windy, it reminds me of Istanbul trip..we hardly have such climate here in middle east..
Loving every bit of it..

For dinner tonite I made this authentic Turkish lentil soup called as mercimek ,it is served with crusty bread.

Ingredients

1 medium onion chopped

1 celery stick chopped

1 carrots chopped

½ tsp pepper powder

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp red chili powder

1/2 tsp of Sumac

1 cup lentils( tur or masoor dal)

1 chicken stock cube
2 tbsp olive oil

Salt to taste

1 lemon

Boiled chickpeas to garnish

Method:

In a pan heat oil over medium heat add chopped onion, celery and carrots and saute for 2-3 minutes then add salt and pepper so that chopped veggies soften, then add garlic, cumin, sumac, red chili and paprika. Fry the spuces for 1-2 minutes then add lentils.

Add 3 cups of hot water and seasoning cube.

Bring to a boil then simmer for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are cooked.
Remove from the heat and blend the soup with hand blender and return it on to heat to make it hot.

Add lemon juice before serving and garnish with boiled chickpeas.

Serve with drizzle of olive oil and crusty bread.