Mahluta is the winter soup of Antep and Urfa. What sets it apart from ezogelin is that the grains are not broken down: the bulgur and the rice should stay visible and whole. So there is no blender here, and the consistency is adjusted with water. It is filling enough to be dinner on its own.
Ingredients
For the soup
For the top
Method
-
Fry the onion
Cook the onion in butter over medium heat for 5 minutes, until thoroughly soft.
-
Add the pastes
Add both pastes and fry for 2 minutes. The colour deepening tells you the raw taste has gone.
-
Add the grains
Add the lentils, bulgur and rice and stir for 2 minutes.
-
Simmer
Pour in the hot water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes. The lentils should have collapsed while the bulgur and rice have swollen but stayed separate.
-
Adjust the consistency
Add the salt. Mahluta is a thick soup but not so thick that a spoon stands up in it; loosen with hot water if needed.
-
Pour over the butter
Melt the butter, take it off the heat, stir in the mint and pepper flakes and drizzle over the soup.
Tips
- Use coarse bulgur. Fine bulgur breaks down and turns the soup into ezogelin, losing the grainy texture.
- It thickens a great deal overnight; add two ladles of hot water while reheating.
- Try the regional way of serving it too, with pomegranate molasses and spring onion alongside.
- Do not rush the onion. Anything under five minutes and you will taste it in the finished soup.
Nutrition
Values are per serving and approximate.