Adasi is the breakfast of working Iran, ladled steaming from vendors' pots into the bowls of laborers heading out before dawn. Built on cheap, sustaining brown lentils softened with onion, turmeric, and dried lime, it is hearty enough to fuel a morning and is often mashed and mopped up with torn barbari or sangak.
Thick, earthy, and deeply savory, with the gentle sourness of dried lime cutting through. The lentils turn creamy as they break down, and a drizzle of oil enriches every spoonful. Sustaining comfort in a bowl.
Long simmering ruptures the lentils' cell walls so their starch thickens the broth into porridge, while dried lime adds an acidic counterpoint to the earthy legumes.
Variations
With cumin, topped with fried onion, soupier consistency, with dates on the side
On the Palate
Where Adasi sits in the Persian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 18 min
Saute chopped onion in oil until soft and golden.
- 21 min
Add turmeric and stir to bloom the spice.
Watch outStir the turmeric in the hot oil just a few seconds until it smells fragrant — let it sit too long and it scorches and turns bitter.
- 33 min
Add rinsed brown lentils and water to cover generously.
- 41 min
Drop in dried limes pierced with a fork.
- 555 min
Simmer gently until the lentils are very soft.
Watch outSimmer low and slow until the lentils collapse when pressed — only fully softened lentils release the starch that thickens it into porridge.
- 65 min
Mash some of the lentils to thicken the porridge.
Watch outMash just part of the lentils and stir back in — leaving some whole gives body without turning it into a smooth paste.
- 72 min
Season with salt, pepper, and a little cinnamon.
- 83 min
Serve hot, drizzled with olive oil, alongside warm flatbread.
