Shorbat Adas (Lentil Soup)

Shorbat adas, Egyptian lentil soup, is the comfort food of every Egyptian household, a pot of lentils simmered with onion, garlic, and cumin until it can be blended into velvet. It is the soup of cold evenings and sick days, served with lemon wedges and often a scattering of crispy fried onions on top, and it appears on iftar tables across Egypt during Ramadan. Every family’s version is a little different, but the warmth is always the same.

A velvet pot of cumin-scented warmth

The cumin is the signature: earthy and fragrant, it turns plain lentils into something deeply savory and comforting. The soup is blended silky smooth, with just enough body to coat a spoon, and the lemon squeezed over each bowl brightens it into something clean and fresh. Paired with warm bread, it is the Egyptian equivalent of chicken soup, simple, restorative, and impossible to eat just one bowl of. It also freezes well, so make a double pot.

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