Şorba nîsk, sorba niska and niskene appear in accounts of Kurdish lentil soup. Published family recipes range from a simple red-lentil bowl to substantial mixtures with rice, potatoes and other pulses. The cooks and circumstances behind them explain this variety.
Recipes carried between generations
Rojin Kizil publishes a Swedish-language recipe under the name sorba niska. In her account of the blog, she identifies herself as Kurdish from Turkey and credits her mother Sadiye with teaching her Kurdish cooking. [1] [2] Upbeat Communities records niskene from a participant using the name Iman, whose recipe also came from his mother. [4] These are examples of household knowledge becoming a written record through migration, community cooking and the wish to share food with new readers.
A simple red-lentil version
For four people, Rojin’s recipe uses 300 ml of red lentils, one litre of hot water, a chicken-stock cube, 50 g butter and two tablespoons of optional yoghurt, with salt. She rinses the lentils, brings them to the boil, skims the surface and simmers them covered for about 30 minutes. The stock, butter and yoghurt then go in; she whisks the soup, adjusts the water and cooks it another five to ten minutes. Suggested accompaniments include bread, fresh onion, lemon juice, mint and chilli. The yoghurt contributes the slight sourness she likes. [1]
Rice, onion and turmeric
A recipe recorded through the Asylum Seekers’ and Refugees Support Group in Nelson, England, and published on Dan’s blog is attributed to an unnamed Kurdish woman from northern Iraq. It combines lentils with rice, onion, turmeric, chilli and stock. Fried onion is added to the simmering lentils, followed by rice and seasonings; the mixture cooks until it reaches the desired soupy texture. The writer notes that it becomes smooth without blending. [3] This offers another approach to body and seasoning, with rice joining the lentils in the pot.
Iman’s more substantial niskene
Upbeat’s June 2026 account records a fuller preparation: red lentils, mung beans, chickpeas, potatoes, rice, pasta and a tomato-onion base seasoned with paprika and turmeric. The lentils are blended, potatoes roasted and the components brought together before the rice and pasta finish cooking. The accompanying story also describes Kurdish participants recognising a dried herb they called zatur, identified there as a type of thyme. Its aroma brought back memories, and the group retained the dish’s Kurdish name on its menu. [4] Food in this setting carries a recipe, a vocabulary and an occasion for recollection.
Nisk at the Ramadan table
In a 2016 Southern Foodways Alliance interview, Nashville resident Shirzad Tayyar recalled his family breaking the Ramadan fast with a date and then nisk. He described a very liquid soup, followed by changing main dishes and desserts. The soup was a recurring part of that family’s evening meal. [5] Read alongside the thicker recipes, his recollection shows how consistency and serving occasions vary. These accounts document several Kurdish ways of preparing and sharing lentil soup; each keeps the cook’s particular choices visible.
Sources and further reading
- Rojin Kizil, Sorba niska, röd linssoppa, Goda kurdiska maträtter, 22 October 2012: recipe for four.
- Rojin Kizil, Om mig, Rojin: family background and learning to cook from her mother Sadiye.
- Dan, Nisk: Kurdish lentil soup from northern Iraq, 21 February 2026; recipe credited to a Kurdish woman through the Nelson support group.
- Upbeat Communities, Iman’s Kurdish Niskene, 30 June 2026; recipe from Iman, text by Momo.
- Jennifer Justus, interview with Shirzad Tayyar, Southern Foodways Alliance, 2 June 2016, pp. 37–38: Ramadan and nisk.