Adas Bhamod (عدس بحامض): Lebanese Lemon Lentil Soup
Overview
3adas Bhamod, "lentils with sourness", is the Lebanese soup that lives in every grandmother's repertoire and every Beirut restaurant's winter menu. The dish is built on three pillars: brown lentils that hold their shape (not red lentils, which dissolve), Swiss chard or silverbeet for the leafy bulk, and a generous hit of fresh lemon at the end that transforms the whole pot from pleasant into unforgettable. The Lebanese signature is the crispy garlic finish, garlic cloves pounded with salt and coriander, fried in olive oil until deep gold and caramelised, then poured into the soup at the table. Vegetarian by default, vegan if you skip the optional yogurt finish, hearty enough to be a full meal with bread on the side. Eaten across Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan, with each region calling it slightly different things, but the recipe and the lemon-garlic finish are the same everywhere.
The Ingredients
- • 300g brown or green lentils, rinsed
- • 2 large Crysp Brown Onions, finely diced
- • 2 Crysp Carrots, finely diced
- • 200g Crysp Chard, leaves chopped (or substitute kale or silverbeet)
- • 30g Crysp Coriander, chopped
- • 30g Crysp Parsley, chopped
- • 1 tbsp Crysp Peashoots, to garnish
- • 4 Crysp Limes, juiced (about 8 tbsp)
- • 8 garlic cloves, crushed
- • 1 tsp ground cumin
- • 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
- • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- • 4 tbsp olive oil + extra for crispy garlic
- • 1.8 litres vegetable or chicken stock
- • Salt & black pepper
- • Pita or sourdough bread, to serve
Instructions
Soak the Lentils Briefly
Rinse the lentils under cold water 3 times until the water runs clear. Soak in cold water for 15 minutes while you prep the vegetables. This shortens the cooking time and ensures even cooking. Brown lentils don't need long soaking like chickpeas or kidney beans.
Build the Aromatic Base
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a heavy pot over medium. Add the diced onions, cook 7 minutes until soft and starting to turn golden. Add the diced carrots, cook 4 minutes more. Add half of the crushed garlic (4 cloves), the cumin, ground coriander seed, and cinnamon. Stir 1 minute until fragrant.
Add Lentils and Stock
Drain the soaked lentils, add to the pot. Stir to coat in the spice base. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Drop the heat, cover, simmer 25 to 30 minutes until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape. Stir every 10 minutes, the lentils tend to settle on the bottom. Top up with hot water if the soup gets too thick.
Add the Greens
Roughly chop the Crysp Chard leaves (and stems, if young and tender). Stir into the simmering soup, cook 5 minutes until the chard wilts and softens. The greens should keep some texture, not collapse completely. Season with salt and pepper, taste.
Make the Crispy Garlic Finish
In a small pan, heat 4 tbsp olive oil over medium. Add the remaining 4 garlic cloves (crushed) and a pinch of salt. Fry 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the garlic turns deep golden brown but not burnt. Watch closely, garlic goes from golden to bitter in 30 seconds. The smell when it's done is intoxicating, sweet caramelised garlic and warm olive oil.
The Lemon Hit (the Bhamod Moment)
Off the heat, pour the lime juice into the soup. Stir hard. Taste, the soup should be sharp, almost too sharp at first taste, with the sour brightness cutting through the earthy lentils. Lebanese cooks add lemon at the end specifically because heat dulls the acid, you want the lemon vivid, not muted. Adjust salt and add more lemon if it tastes flat.
Serve With Crispy Garlic on Top
Ladle the soup into deep bowls. Pour a generous spoonful of the crispy garlic and its fragrant oil over each bowl, the oil pools dramatically on the surface, the garlic floats. Scatter generous fresh Crysp Coriander, Crysp Parsley, and a small pile of Crysp Peashoots in the centre. Serve immediately with warm pita or sourdough bread torn straight into the soup at the table.
The Tradition
3adas Bhamod is the soup of mountain Lebanon, where shepherds and farmers ate lentils as their primary protein for centuries. The lemon-garlic finish is the signature that distinguishes the Lebanese version from Egyptian, Turkish, or Greek lentil soups, all of which exist but lack the sharp acid lift. The dish is mentioned in Lebanese cookbooks dating to the 18th century and probably existed long before that. In Beirut today, 3adas Bhamod is on every winter menu from old-school institutions like Em Sherif to family-run mountain restaurants in Aley and Bhamdoun. The soup is also the traditional first solid food given to children in Lebanese villages, gentle, nutritious, and easy to digest, the lentils introducing infants to the concept of seasoning and herbs from age 1. Modern fine dining versions add cream or pure the soup smooth, but the country original keeps the lentils whole and the herbs visible.
💡 Pro Tip: Use brown or green lentils only, never red lentils. Red lentils dissolve completely in 15 minutes and turn the soup into a thick puree, which is delicious but a different dish (closer to Turkish mercimek çorbası). The whole point of 3adas Bhamod is that the lentils stay intact, holding their shape and providing texture. Brown lentils take 25 to 30 minutes to cook properly, hold their shape, and absorb the spices without disintegrating.