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"Lentil soup for good luck in the New Year"
12/31/2002 Entry
Hungarian tradition has it that the first thing you should eat in the New Year is lentil soup. The idea is that the New Year will bring you as much in riches as the number of little lentils. The original idea is fully focused on money. That's a bit materialistic for my taste so I'm going to think about it in a larger context of riches of all kinds. 
So I'll be making lentil soup today and sharing it will all those who are joining me for New Year's celebrations. Here's the recipe in case you're interested in joining in on the tradition.
Lentil Soup for Good Luck in the New Year
(this is fairly free form, sorry, no amounts specified, go with your gut)
Ingredients:
lentils
onions
oil
carrots
paprika (ideally Hungarian)
salt
water
flour
Preparation:
Take the lentils and after cleaning/sorting let stand in water for an hour.
Chop up some onions and saute in oil until transparent.
Add the lentils, some paprika (ideally Hungarian paprika for authenticity:), and a bit of salt.
Then add quite a bit of water (but don't fill up the pan completely as more things will be added).
Let cook for about 15 minutes.
In the meantime, chop up the carrots. Add to the soup and keep cooking until lentils are soft.
Take a bit of flour (1 tbsp) and mix it with a bit of water (2-3 tbsp) until smooth. Add a few tablespoons of the hot soup to it and mix some more.
Add to the soup.
Keep on cooking.
If you are a meat eater you can add some cut up hot dogs and cook for another five minutes.
Add a bit of vinegar (start with no more than 1tsp) and a bit of sugar (1 tsp).
Finally, take some sour cream, mix it til smooth and add to the soup. Cook for another minute or so then let sit. Let sit for several hours before consumption.
With that, I wish you all the best for the New Year!
Replies: 3 Comments have been posted, click here to see them and add your own
Hi Eszter,
My Dad is from Hungary so I asked him about this lentil soup tradition.
Well, he said that he left in 1946 and the last time he celebrated New Year's in Hungary was 1943 so maybe this is a newer tradition because he never heard of it.
Regards and Happy New Year to you.
Michael
Posted by Michael Kelemen @ 12/31/2002 01:13 PM CST
Hi Michael, thanks for sharing. I got it from my parents who still live there and are in the midst of gearing up for the New Year's toast at a party as I write this. I do recall the tradition from years past. It's never too late to start up on something like this.:-)
Posted by eszter @ 12/31/2002 01:29 PM CST
Thanks for the recipe for lentil soup, it was a great meal on New Year's Eve. My Hungarian Great-Grandmother always made this when I was young (I guess the tradition does go back at least a century), so it was very nice to celebrate the New Year with lentil soup again!
By the way, your blog is great, I enjoy your comments on various things a great deal.
Posted by B.L.I. @ 01/08/2003 03:39 PM CST
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