Grandmother's Lentil Soup:
Remembering an Istanbul Childhood
by Leyla Neyzi
April 13, 2020
When I began to read the “call to cook” sent by my friend and fellow oral historian Stacey Zembrzycki for this blog, I had a Proustian moment. Quarantined at home like many around the globe, I found myself smelling and desiring the lentil soup my beloved maternal grandmother lovingly cooked for her grandchildren so many years ago in a city that is lost—the Istanbul of my childhood. So I would like to share this memory and this recipe. A long time ago, but not at all long ago in my heart, I remember ritual visits to my grandmother's house in the neighborhood of Nişantaşı in Istanbul for a special meal. The menu was always the same, because it was one my brother and I loved. My grandmother, Nemide Hanım (Lady Nemide), loved through food like many grandmothers. I remember walking the short distance with my brother from our apartment to my grandmother's apartment, in what used to be a quiet residential neighborhood. When the door opened, the smell of our favorite lentil soup would greet us. My grandmother always set the table beautifully, with great care, even when she was eating alone. My brother and I would take our places at the table as grandmother carried in the steaming bowls of soup from the kitchen. The lentil soup was the beginning of a long feast, accompanied by warm and special conversation between a grandmother and her beloved grandchildren. Today, whenever I desire comfort food, my grandmother's lentil soup is there to warm my tummy and heart and remind me of the beautiful hands and loving glance of my dear grandmother in a lost city. Please remember to say “health to your hands” (elinize sağlık) to the cook who makes this soup for you…
Grandmother's Lentil Soup
2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup green lentils, picked and washed
½ cup canned tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 carrot, finely chopped
Hot water or homemade bouillon
salt, pepper, powdered cumin
Heat a heavy pot, and "kill" the onions in the butter (meaning fry and wilt them well while stirring). Add the tomato paste, stir well. Add the canned tomatoes, carrot, lentils. Cover with hot water or homemade bouillon. Add salt, pepper and powdered cumin to taste. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat until the lentils are soft. Serve with lemon juice and/or good quality vinegar on the side.
Born in Istanbul, Leyla Neyzi studied in the United States, conducted anthropological and oral historical research in Turkey, and is currently based at the University of Glasgow.