No-Oil Adas bi Hamod — Lebanese Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup with Lemon

Middle Eastern Fast Without Oil Published June 13, 2026

Adas bi hamod is a Lebanese sour lentil soup, traditionally finished with olive oil and a flood of lemon. Even without the oil it is a complete, soul-warming bowl: whole brown lentils simmered until tender, ribbons of Swiss chard, soft cubes of potato, and enough lemon to make your mouth water. It is the classic Levantine Lenten dish, the kind eaten by the bowlful through Great Lent — sour, savory, and deeply nourishing.

The flavor here is built without fat by sweating the onions and garlic in water, then leaning hard on garlic, coriander, and lemon. A generous hit of crushed garlic mashed with salt and stirred in near the end gives the soup its characteristic sharp, almost pungent backbone.

Written for strict no-oil days. On oil days, finish each bowl with a generous swirl of olive oil and sauté the garlic in a little oil for the final flourish. No fish version needed — this is lentils all the way.

FASTING LEVEL: Fast Without Oil (oil-day note below)
SERVINGS: 4
TIME: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

- 250g (about 1 1/4 cups) whole brown or green lentils, rinsed
- 1.5 liters (6 cups) water, plus more as needed
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic (2 for the soup, 4 for the finish), minced
- 1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 1.5cm cubes
- 250g (about 5 cups) Swiss chard or spinach, stems chopped and leaves shredded
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Juice of 2 lemons (about 6 tablespoons), plus more to taste
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Chopped fresh cilantro, to serve
- Lemon wedges, to serve

METHOD

1. Put the lentils and water in a large pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes until they begin to soften.

2. Meanwhile, in a separate dry pan, sweat the onion in 3 tablespoons of water over medium heat for 7-8 minutes until soft and lightly golden at the edges. Add 2 cloves of the minced garlic and cook 1 minute more, splashing in water as needed.

3. Add the onion mixture, potato cubes, coriander, and cumin to the lentils. Simmer for 12-15 minutes until the potato is tender and the lentils are fully soft. Add water if it gets too thick — it should be a loose, brothy soup.

4. Stir in the chard stems first, simmer 3 minutes, then add the leaves and cook 3-4 minutes until wilted.

5. Mash the remaining 4 cloves of garlic with a generous pinch of salt into a paste and stir it through the soup. Add the lemon juice and season well with salt and pepper.

6. Taste — it should be distinctly sour. Add more lemon if needed. Serve hot with cilantro and extra lemon wedges, with flatbread.

NOTES

- On oil days, finish with a swirl of olive oil per bowl, or fry the final garlic in 2 tablespoons of oil before stirring it in.
- The soup should be assertively lemony — that is the whole point of "bi hamod" (with sour).
- Add a pinch of chili or a sliced fresh chili for gentle heat.
- Thickens overnight; loosen with water and refresh the lemon when reheating.