Turkish lentil soup

Lentil soup is one of the most popular Turkish dishes, much like borscht in Russia. With all the simplicity of preparation, this is a real delight, and even children gobble it up by both cheeks (of course, in this case, it is better not to put hot spices). The soup can also be boiled in water: its taste will not lose from this.

Ingredients

• lentils - 1 glass
• wheat grits or bulgur - 0.5 cups
• onion - 1 pc.
• tomato paste - 1 tbsp l.
• beef bones for broth - 1-2 pcs.
• butter - 1 tbsp l.
• coarsely ground hot pepper or paprika, dry mint, thyme or cumin, salt
• water or beef or chicken broth - 2 liters.

Directions

1. Put a glass of lentils in water or broth, put on fire. Add wheat grits about 10 minutes after boiling. After that, cook the soup over low heat until the cereal is boiled. This will take approximately 30-40 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, fry the finely chopped onion in butter, dilute 1 spoonful of tomato paste full of broth in a cup. Pour the tomato paste into the onion and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Put in soup and salt it.
3. 15 minutes before cooking, add spices to the soup: half a teaspoon of mint, cumin or thyme.
4. After removing the soup from the heat, let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.
5. The finished soup can be mashed with a blender, or you can eat it like this: the soup will be thick and almost uniform. Sprinkle with coarse pepper or paprika before serving.