Turkish cuisine · Soups & Stews

Ekşili Pirinç Çorbası

Tangy rice soup with chickpeas and pomegranate molasses, bound with egg-lemon terbiye and drizzled with mint butter.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 150 g long-grain rice
• 150 g chickpeas
• 1 onion
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1.5 l broth
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 1 lemon
• 2 egg yolks
• 50 g butter
• 1 tbsp dried mint
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight, drain and cook in fresh water for 45 min. until soft; rinse the rice under cold water until it runs clear and finely dice the onion.
2. Melt 20 g of the butter in a pot, sauté the onion for 4 min. until translucent, add the tomato paste and roast for 1 min. until it smells deep and dark.
3. Pour in the broth, add the rice and the cooked chickpeas and cook over gentle heat for 18–20 min. until the rice is very soft and the soup thickens slightly.
4. Whisk the egg yolks with the lemon juice and the pomegranate molasses, slowly stir in two ladles of the hot soup to bring the terbiye up to temperature.
5. Pour the terbiye into the pot while stirring constantly and let the soup thicken over the lowest heat for 3–4 min. without letting it boil again; season with salt and pepper.
6. Melt the remaining butter, let the mint foam in it for 20 sec. and serve the soup immediately drizzled with it.