Kabağı doğradıktan sonra çorbaya ekliyorum.

The base word is kabak. Depending on context, it can mean pumpkin, squash, or zucchini/courgette.

In cooking sentences, the exact English word often depends on what dish is being made and what vegetable is meant in context. So kabağı here is the same noun, just with an added ending.

Because -ı here is the accusative ending, which often marks a specific, definite direct object.

So:

• kabak = squash / zucchini / pumpkin
• kabağı = the squash / zucchini / pumpkin, or a specific one already understood

Also, when kabak takes a vowel-initial suffix like -ı, the final k usually changes to ğ:

• kabak → kabağı

That change is very common in Turkish.

Usually ğ in modern Turkish is not pronounced like a hard English g.

In kabağı, it mainly lengthens or smooths the vowel before it. So it sounds roughly like:

• ka-baa-ı

Not a strong g sound.

So don’t say something like ka-bag-uh. The ğ is much softer than that.

It means after chopping or after having chopped.

It comes from:

• doğramak = to chop
• doğradıktan sonra = after chopping

A useful pattern is:

• verb + -DIKten sonra = after doing something

Examples:

• yedikten sonra = after eating
• bitirdikten sonra = after finishing
• doğradıktan sonra = after chopping

So Kabağı doğradıktan sonra... means After chopping the squash/zucchini...

Because Turkish often drops subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb ending.

The verb ekliyorum contains:

• -yor = present continuous
• -um = I

So ekliyorum already means I am adding / I add.

That’s why ben is not necessary here.

Grammatically, ekliyorum is the present continuous form:

• eklemek = to add
• ekliyorum = I am adding

But in natural English, depending on context, it can also be translated as:

• I add
• I’m adding

For example:

• while describing a recipe step by step: I add it to the soup
• while narrating what you are doing right now: I’m adding it to the soup

So both can be correct, depending on context.

Because çorbaya has the dative ending -a/-e, which often means to.

So:

• çorba = soup
• çorbaya = to the soup

The verb eklemek commonly works like this:

• X’i Y’ye eklemek = to add X to Y

So here the soup is the destination/target, which is why it takes the dative:

• çorbaya = to the soup

Yes, the object is understood from context and left out.

The sentence means something like:

• After chopping the squash/zucchini, I add it to the soup.

Turkish often omits words that are obvious.

A fuller version could be:

• Kabağı doğradıktan sonra onu çorbaya ekliyorum.
• Kabağı doğradıktan sonra kabağı çorbaya ekliyorum.

But repeating kabağı is often unnecessary, so the shorter version sounds natural.

Because Turkish word order is often verb-final.

A very common Turkish pattern is:

• [other information] + verb

So here you get:

• Kabağı doğradıktan sonra = after chopping the squash
• çorbaya = to the soup
• ekliyorum = I add / I’m adding

That final verb position is very normal in Turkish.

Yes. A common alternative is:

• Kabağı doğrayınca çorbaya ekliyorum.

This can mean when/once/after I chop the squash, I add it to the soup.

The difference is roughly:

• doğradıktan sonra = more clearly after having chopped
• doğrayınca = when/once/after chopping, slightly shorter and often more conversational

Both are natural, but -dıktan sonra is very explicit about the sequence: first chopping, then adding.