L entil S oup

I was visiting my homeland (Egypt) with my family many years ago. We had lunch in one of the most expensive hotels in Alexandria north of Egypt, and I ordered Lentil Soup as starter, I noticed that it tasted extraordinary, and I asked the waiter to find out from the chef what is the secret of its super taste, and told me that he adds cream to it. Since then, I always add cream to my Lentil Soup.

-Hasan El Karamanmy

Editor’s Note:

Visions of scorching, magnificent Egyptian desert scenes easily come to mind. But in Egypt there is scuba diving in the turquoise sea, and OH, to swirl down the spectacular Nile River. No shortage of Eco-tours or spiritual retreats here, with unmatchable heritage and antiquity. Popular Egyptian cuisine famously includes shawarma and kebabs, hummus and falafel. You’ll see luscious legumes, vegetables, rice and meats. But Koshari is the revered national dish of Egypt: a classic dish of noodles, rice, beans, spiced tomato sauce and fried onions. World cuisine is also found in the very impressive Egyptian restaurant scene.

FMI: HERE and HERE

Ingredients

• 2 x cups of Red Lentil (about 400 gm)

• 2 x medium chopped onions

• 2 x medium to large chopped peeled carrots

• 2 x medium peeled tomatoes

• 3 x finally chopped peeled garlic cloves

• 1 x table spoon of ground cumin

• 1 x table spoon of paprika

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Butter (optional)

LINK TO EASY CONVERSION CHART

Chef’s Note: Lintel (“lentil”) soup is very popular in Egypt and in the Middle East. Because all the ingredients are affordable, it is considered as a popular meal for people – even those on a very strict budget -- as it is nutritious, rich in minerals, protein and high in fibre. It is also very popular as a starter on more wealthy people’s tables and even on five-star restaurant’s menu as starter.

Healthy Hint:

Method

1. In a suitable Casserole pot, put a piece of butter and a little bit of extra virgin olive oil.

2. Place the Casserole on the stove at medium-high heat until butter melts.

3. Place onion first, then add lentil, carrots, garlic and finally tomatoes.

4. Stir all ingredients on medium heat for 3 – 5 minutes.

5. Add boiled water to cover all ingredients with 2 inches (we don’t want to have too much water) steps 1,2,3,4,10 and 12 are optional, you can skip them if you are Vegan, but if you are not Vegan, I highly recommend to do it this way as it adds a lot to the taste.

6. Cover the Casserole and bring to boil.

7. Reduce heat and keep checking, stirring and adding a little bit of boiled water if you need to (we don’t want the bottom to get burned because that will spoil the taste).

8. When all the ingredients fully cooked, about 30, remove from heat, uncover and cool.

9. Blend all the ingredients very well (if you use glass blender you don’t have to wait until ingredients are fully cooled. But use caution blending hot ingredients; do in small batches).

10. In a suitable size pan, put a piece of butter and little bit of extra virgin oil on medium heat. When the butter melts, add 2 crushed garlic cloves and a tea spoon of ground cumin and stir well.

11. Add the blended ingredients to the Casserole, reduce heat and keep stirring.

12. Add 200 gm of cream (optional).

13. Add boiled water slowly, as required, if soup is too thick.

14. Reduce heat and cover and leave it for 15 – 20 minutes, stir from time to time.

15. Serve with chopped parsley and crispy pieces of pita bread.

Hasan El Karamanmy

I am Egyptian, Electrical Engineer, immigrated to New Zealand with my family 26 years ago. Before I came to New Zealand my cooking skills were limited to salads, omelette and sandwiches. When I came to New Zealand, I wanted to enjoy the beautiful outdoor life (beaches, parks, etc.) This is when I started Egyptian BBQ (Koftaa & Kebab) using a portable charcoal BBQ, after a while I became very good with it. That encouraged me to do more serious cooking. I have also been more interested in healthy food and a healthy way of cooking as I totally believe all of these diseases including cancer are a result of unhealthy food (I had my own experience 20 years ago). I always try to find healthy ways to cook our tasty Egyptian cuisine, avoiding unhealthy things such as deep frying by using healthy ingredients and organic food as much as possible. To find more authentic recipe photos, please visit my Instagram account.

Ingredients

• 2 x cups of Medium or Short Grain Rice (about 400 gm)

• 2 x cups of blended tomato

• 5 x medium courgettes (zucchini)

• 6 x long eggplant

• 1 x large onion (finely chopped)

• 4 x peeled garlic cloves (crushed)

• 1 x bunch of parsley (finely chopped)

• 1 x bunch of coriander (finely chopped)

• 1 x bunch of dill (finely chopped)

• 2 x capsicum (red peppers)

• 1 x table spoon of ground cumin

• 1 x table spoon of paprika

• Salt and pepper to taste

• (Cooked, minced beef is optional)

Link To Easy Conversion Chart

Method

1. In a large bowl, place rice and all other ingredients (except courgettes, eggplants and capsicum). Mix well and leave the mixture for a couple of hours so the rice gets the chance to absorb the tomato juice.

2. Cut the ends of courgettes and peel them, keep the skin aside as we are going to use them later, cut the courgettes to equal halves.

3. Cut the ends of long eggplants.

4. Cut the top of capsicums and use knife to clear the inside.

5. Use a corer to core both courgettes and eggplants, keeping all the “stuff” you cored aside--as we are going to use it later.

6. In a suitable large casserole, put all the ingredients you have got from peeling and coring courgettes and eggplants in the bottom of the casserole.

7. Arrange all courgettes, eggplants and capsicum in a stand-up position. Redistribute the mix at the bottom of the casserole, making the courgettes, eggplants and capsicum all at the same height as best as you can.

(It is important to use the right size casserole so all the vegetables stand up with no gaps between them.)

8. Fill courgettes, eggplants and capsicums with the rice mixture.

Chef’s Note:

MAHSHEY is one of my favourite main dishes. As MAHSHY is about stuffed vegetables, there are many kinds of MAHSHY, depending on the vegetable/s used. For example, Courgette (also known as zucchini or summer squash), long eggplant, capsicum (also called red peppers), cabbage, grape leaves, etc… My favourite is the Cabbage MAHSHY, but I selected here to introduce courgette and long eggplant for simplicity, as they are less complicated to be created than the cabbage and grape leaves, though the filling is nearly the same.

Some people add cooked, minced beef to the mixture on more wealthy people’s tables and even on five-star restaurant’s menu as starter.

9. Heat the beef or chicken stock to near boiling point; salt to taste. If you don’t have stock, you can use water. I don’t use stock cubes as I don’t trust them Healthwise. I always keep the stock of boiling beef or chicken in the freezer inside suitable glass containers to use them when I need to.

10. Place the casserole on the stove at medium to high heat, pour the preheated stock (or water) to fill up to half-height only. When the liquid starts boiling, cover and reduce heat.

11. While the MAHSHY is cooking, you will notice that the liquid is rising up, because the rice is full of liquid and the heat will release it out – so keep an eye on it – as we don’t want the liquid to cover the MAHSHY, which causes the rice to run out of vegetables where it is stuffed. If you find that the liquid is still too low, you can add just little stock (or water) but be very careful when you do, so you don’t over-fill.

12. Keep checking until you are sure rice is fully cooked; it will take about an hour.

13. Serve with yoghourt sauce (yoghourt, cucumber, extra virgin olive oil and garlic), also known by its Greek name . . .Tzatziki.

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