Ezo Soup: the Hugely Popular Turkish Bride Soup

The name of this delicious Turkish soup is derived from a beautiful young woman, Ezo, from Dokuzyol village in south central Turkey. At 20, she was married unhappily off to a wealthy man who turned out to be unfaithful to her. Ezo, full named Zöhre Bozgeyik, was then granted a divorce, rare at her time, and later fell in love with a Syrian man. They would soon be married after she met with her future mother in-law, who was notoriously impossible to impress, or so the legend goes. This spicy lentil soup was Ezo’s attempt to win her over. Apparently it did its magic, because she reportedly went on to have nine children with the Syrian man. This lentil soup was first popular among Turks peasants for breakfast as its ingredients were easy to find and not expensive. But the name “ezogelin” itself was not a thing until mid 20th century. According to food writer Aylin Tan, “Ezogelin is a typical Gaziantep lentil soup, originally named malhıta çorbası. 'Malhıta' is the local name for lentils. To call the soup 'ezogelin' is a later invention of Istanbul restaurants, probably by cooks from Gaziantep”, which was where our heroine Ezo from. Today, Ezogelin soup is served as appetizers in nearly every kebab house in the cities of Turkey. The soup is still believed to bring good health and fortune. Some brides-to-be are said to still consume this soup in the morning of their wedding days. Visit Us at Sahan Mezopotamian Street Food Instagram: sahan.mezopotamian (02) 964 991 67 35-39 Auburn Road, AUBURN, NSW 2144, Australia