Turkish Red Lentil Soup with Curry and Mint

I've always eaten lentils ever since I was a small child.  My mother makes a fantastic Pardina lentil (brown) soup.  It was not until a Turkish restaurant Pasha Mezze opened up in my hometown of Norfolk, Virginia that I actually tried red lentil soup.  Unlike brown lentils, red lentils are usually pureed before serving and contain no meat.  It greatly reduces the amount of saturated fat, and lentils are extremely rich in protein and this soup is packed with tons of vegetables.  This soup was my attempt to replicate that of Pasha Mezze.

Ingredients for 4 people

1 cup red lentils
4 1/2 cups water
1 large onion, chopped
1 leek, cleaned and whites chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 teaspoons curry
1 teaspoon hot paprika
1 teaspoon dried mint leaves
1 bay leaf
olive oil
salt and pepper

In a large pot, heat olive oil, then add chopped onions and fry until translucent.  Then add carrots, leeks and bell pepper, cook until softened.  Then add garlic cook for an additional 2 minutes.  Then add the curry, paprika, mint and bay leaf, stir to mix.  Then add the red lentils and water.  Bring to a boil, reduce to low/medium and cook for about 30-40 minutes until the lentils are tender.  Once the lentils are tender, use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until everything is nice and smooth.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with crusty bread, or where available, Turkish bread.

Kısır - Turkish Bulgur Salad

There is a very large Turkish expatriate community living in Berlin.  One of the things I am constantly noticing at the Turkish Imbiss is this salad.  I've tried cooking Bulgur before and found it to be pretty tasty.  The fresher the ingredients are in this salad, the better it will taste.  Bulgur is suprisingly easy to prepare, even easier if you have a water cooker to boil water quicky.  The majority of the work in this salad is all of the chopping.  This recipe makes enough for several people, it can easily be multiplied.  Get a couple of friends together and have yourself a Kısır Party!  Prepare little Kısır cups to-go, keep in a bag or a lunch box and it will keep for several hours without regrigeration.

2 cups fine bulgur (avaiable at most grocery stores in the Middle Eastern section)
2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon red pepper paste (spicy or regular, or just another teaspoon of tomato paste)
1/3 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 medium lemon
2 tablespoons pomegranate paste (nar ekshisi in Turkish, usually the bulgur)
1 English cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped green onion
Crushed red pepper (optional, add depending on how spicy you want it)
Salt

Preparing Bulgur: Place Bulgur in a medium bowl or pot and add boiling water, place a cover over the bulgur and set aside for 20 minutes.  You can now begin chopping your other ingredients.

Once the bulgur is set, add the tomato and red pepper paste, pomegranate paste and olive oil and stir to mix well.  Then you can add all the other ingredients and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate for a few hours so all the flavor can mix.