Lebeniye Soup Recipe

Lebeniye soup is a creamy yogurt soup with rice, chickpeas and tiny browned beef or lamb meatballs, ready in about 55 minutes. It feeds 4 and makes a filling dinner on a cool evening.

Why This Recipe Works

The soup base is only rice and water. The rice cooks until it is very soft and thickens the broth a little, so the soup tastes creamy without any cream.

The yogurt goes through a tempering step. Whisk it with an egg yolk and flour, then warm it with a few ladles of hot broth before it meets the pot. The flour and yolk help hold the yogurt together, and the slow warm-up keeps it from curdling into grainy bits.

The meatballs get browned in butter first, and the dried mint goes into that hot butter for just a few seconds. The butter picks up the mint’s flavor, and you pour it over the soup at the end so the aroma stays fresh.

Lebeniye Soup Ingredients

For the base and soup

• 2 tablespoons white rice
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas (canned or pre-boiled)
• 6 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt (added at the end)

For the meatballs

• 7 ounces ground beef or lamb (about 200 g)
• 1 medium onion, finely grated
• 1 level teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Neutral oil, a few drops, to keep the meat from sticking to your hands

For the yogurt tempering

• 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt (or thick full-fat yogurt)
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 large clove garlic, minced (optional)

For the searing and herb topping

• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon dried mint

How To Make Lebeniye Soup

Shape the meatballs

1. Mix the meat: Put the 7 ounces of ground beef or lamb, the grated onion, 1 level teaspoon salt and the black pepper in a bowl. Knead for several minutes, until the mixture feels sticky and firm.
2. Roll them tiny: Roll the meat into marble-sized balls. A few drops of oil on your palms keep the meat from sticking.

Cook the base and brown the meatballs

3. Simmer the rice: Rinse the rice and add it to a large pot with 6 cups of water. Simmer over medium heat until the rice is soft and tender.
4. Brown the meatballs: While the rice cooks, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook until they are browned on every side.
5. Bloom the mint: Stir the dried mint into the butter and mix gently for 10 to 15 seconds. Take the pan off the heat and set it aside.
6. Add the chickpeas: When the rice is soft, stir the cooked chickpeas into the pot.

Temper the yogurt and finish

7. Whisk the yogurt: In a bowl, whisk the yogurt, egg yolk, flour, lemon juice and garlic until completely smooth. Lumps of flour are easier to break up now than in the pot.
8. Warm it with broth: Ladle 1 to 2 cups of the warm broth into the yogurt mixture a little at a time, whisking the whole time. This warms the yogurt gently so it won’t curdle.
9. Stir it into the pot: Pour the warmed yogurt back into the pot gradually, stirring fast and without stopping. Keep stirring over medium heat until the soup reaches a gentle simmer.
10. Add meatballs and salt: Pour in the meatballs together with the mint butter and stir well. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt last, since salt early can split a yogurt base. Turn off the heat and serve warm.

Recipe Tips

• Knead the meat well: Several minutes of kneading makes the mixture sticky, and that is what holds the tiny meatballs together in the soup.
• Use thick yogurt: Greek or full-fat yogurt gives a creamier soup and is less likely to split than thin or low-fat yogurt.
• Never let it boil hard: Once the yogurt is in, keep the heat at medium and stir. A rolling boil can make the soup grainy.
• Season at the end: Taste after the meatballs go in, then add the salt. The meatballs and chickpeas already carry some seasoning.

What To Serve With Lebeniye Soup

Serve the soup warm in wide bowls, with a little extra mint butter spooned over the top. Crusty bread for dipping and a simple tomato and cucumber salad go well with it.

How To Store

• Fridge: Keep leftovers in a covered container for up to 3 days.
• Reheat: Warm the soup gently over low heat, stirring often, and do not let it boil. Add a splash of water if it has thickened.
• Freezer: Yogurt soups tend to separate when frozen and thawed, so this soup is best eaten fresh.

FAQs

Why did my yogurt soup curdle?

The yogurt was most likely added to the hot pot without warming it first, or the soup boiled hard afterward. Temper it with a few ladles of warm broth, stir the whole time, and keep the heat at a gentle simmer.

Can I make Lebeniye soup without meat?

Yes. Leave out the meatballs and bloom the mint in butter on its own, then pour it over the soup. The rice and chickpeas still make it filling, and it becomes vegetarian.

Can I use canned chickpeas?

Yes. Drain and rinse them, then measure 1 cup. They are already cooked, so they only need to heat through in the soup.

Is this soup gluten free?

No, because of the 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour in the yogurt mixture. You could try a gluten-free flour blend in its place, though the texture may change slightly.

Nutrition

Estimated per serving (1 of 4), worked out from the ingredients.

• Calories: about 380 kcal
• Total Fat: 20g
• Total Carbohydrate: 26g
• Dietary Fiber: 4g
• Protein: 22g

Lebeniye Soup

Recipe by Paula

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Total time

55

minutes

A creamy Turkish-style yogurt soup with soft rice, chickpeas and tiny beef or lamb meatballs, finished with mint butter. Serves 4 and is ready in about 55 minutes.

Ingredients

• For the base and soup

• 2 tablespoons white rice

• 1 cup cooked chickpeas (canned or pre-boiled)

• 6 cups water

• 1 teaspoon salt (added at the end)

• For the meatballs

• 7 ounces ground beef or lamb (about 200 g)

• 1 medium onion, finely grated

• 1 level teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• Neutral oil, a few drops, to keep the meat from sticking to your hands

• For the yogurt tempering

• 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt (or thick full-fat yogurt)

• 1 egg yolk

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• Juice of 1/2 lemon

• 1 large clove garlic, minced (optional)

• For the searing and herb topping

• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 tablespoon dried mint

Directions

• Mix the meat: Put the 7 ounces of ground beef or lamb, the grated onion, 1 level teaspoon salt and the black pepper in a bowl. Knead for several minutes, until the mixture feels sticky and firm.
• Roll them tiny: Roll the meat into marble-sized balls. A few drops of oil on your palms keep the meat from sticking.
• Simmer the rice: Rinse the rice and add it to a large pot with 6 cups of water. Simmer over medium heat until the rice is soft and tender.
• Brown the meatballs: While the rice cooks, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook until they are browned on every side.
• Bloom the mint: Stir the dried mint into the butter and mix gently for 10 to 15 seconds. Take the pan off the heat and set it aside.
• Add the chickpeas: When the rice is soft, stir the cooked chickpeas into the pot.
• Whisk the yogurt: In a bowl, whisk the yogurt, egg yolk, flour, lemon juice and garlic until completely smooth. Lumps of flour are easier to break up now than in the pot.
• Warm it with broth: Ladle 1 to 2 cups of the warm broth into the yogurt mixture a little at a time, whisking the whole time. This warms the yogurt gently so it won’t curdle.
• Stir it into the pot: Pour the warmed yogurt back into the pot gradually, stirring fast and without stopping. Keep stirring over medium heat until the soup reaches a gentle simmer.
• Add meatballs and salt: Pour in the meatballs together with the mint butter and stir well. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt last, since salt early can split a yogurt base. Turn off the heat and serve warm.