Spicy Lentil Pot – Shorbet Addis (Egypt)
Sometime before your shipment arrives and shortly after your status as guests-to-be-fed ends, you discover that cooking in the mission field isn’t as easy as you thought it would be. That is when you need one of these cookbooks. Written by missionaries, they use ingredients available in much of the world in ways both standard and unique.
Here’s a traditional, hearty Egyptian soup that is warming, aromatic & filling enough to be a meal in itself.
Chop in large chunks:
2 carrots
1 green pepper
1 onion
2 tomatoes
Put vegetables in a large soup pot with:
5-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
1 ½ c. orange lentils
5-6 c. water
1 bouillon cube of your choice (optional)
Cover and boil for 20-30 minutes without stirring. Cool slightly and strain or puree.
Return to pot and add:
2 t. ground cumin
1 ½ t. salt
¼ -1 ½ t. ground red pepper
Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to blend flavors. In a separate pan, fry ½ c. onion, chopped, in 1 T. oil until toasty brown. Float onions on top of soup. Serve with lemon wedges to bring out flavor.
From the Mennonite Cookbook Extending the Table – A World Community Cookbook by Joetta Handrich Schlabach