Çatal Aşı Soup

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Çatal aşı soup is a traditional Çorum winter soup made from green lentils and yarma (coarse cracked wheat), simmered in a sauce of onion sautéed in butter with mint and red pepper. It appears as a Çorum dish on the official “What to Eat?” page of the Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, and on the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s Türkiye Kültür Portalı.

How it is made

The recipe is simple: onion is sautéed in butter, then mint and red pepper are added, followed by water and green lentils, which are simmered until tender. Yarma is then stirred in and cooked until the soup reaches its final consistency, with salt added at the end. Both official sources give an identical ingredient list and method.

Place in Çorum

According to the official source, çatal aşı soup is made not only in Çorum’s city centre but across its surrounding districts, and it is traditionally served with pickles and spring onions. Combining green lentils with cracked wheat makes it a typical example of Çorum’s grain-and-legume village cooking.

Related flavours

Çatal aşı belongs to the same family as Çorum’s other simple village soups: oğmaç soup is made from bits of dough, toyga aşı from cracked wheat and yoghurt, and tutmaç aşı from lentils, noodles and garlicky yoghurt. Together they reflect the everyday “aş” soup culture of Çorum’s tables.

Sources

• Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism — What to Eat?
• Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Türkiye Kültür Portalı — Çatal Aşı Soup (Çorum)

🍳 How to make it

Servings: Serves 6Time: ~1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 cup green lentils
• 1 cup yarma (coarse cracked wheat)
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp red pepper powder
• 1 tsp dried mint
• 6 cups water

Method

1. Melt the butter in a pot and sauté the finely chopped onion until it turns pink.
2. Add the mint and red pepper and sauté briefly.
3. Pour in 3 cups of water; once boiling, add the green lentils and simmer 20 minutes.
4. Add 3 more cups of hot water along with the yarma; simmer for about 20 more minutes.
5. Season with salt, lower the heat and simmer 10 more minutes before serving.

💡 Tips

• According to the local source, çatal aşı soup is traditionally served with pickles and spring onions.

A traditional recipe; quantities and times are approximate and vary by household.

← All Çorum dishes