Morocco · Moroccan soup (harira, Ramadan evening meal)
Moroccan harira
A rich, velvety tomato soup with lentils, chickpeas, tender meat, celery and fresh herbs, thickened with a flour tadouira and finished with vermicelli, with lemon served at the table.
Cookhuddle Editorial Cookhuddle | Morocco
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- Servings
- 8
- Preparation
- 20 min
- Cooking
- 100 min
- Total
- About 120 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
Cuisine / tradition: Moroccan soup (harira, Ramadan evening meal) (MA) — declared by the author
- Soup
- Starter
- Everyday
Ingredients
For 8 servings
- 300 g lamb or beef, in small cubes
- 1 piece large onion, grated
- 2 piece celery stalks with leaves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 20 g butter (or smen)
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- 800 g ripe tomatoes, peeled and puréed
- 2 tbsp tomato paste, divided in two
- 80 g brown or green lentils, rinsed
- 120 g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
- 1 bunch coriander, finely chopped, divided in two
- 1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt, to start (adjust at the end)
- 2 1/4 l water, for the soup
- 500 ml hot water, to top up the soup if needed
- 80 g plain flour, for the tadouira
- 250 ml cold water, for the tadouira
- 50 g vermicelli, broken in short pieces
- 1/2 piece lemon, in slices or wedges, optional, for serving
Method
- Step 1. Minute 0 (the chickpeas were soaked overnight and are drained): in a large pot, heat the oil and the butter and sweat the onion, celery and meat cubes for 5 minutes. Add the ginger, turmeric, pepper, cinnamon and saffron and stir for 2 minutes.⏱ 5 min
- Step 2. Minute 7: add the puréed tomatoes, half of the tomato paste, half of the coriander and all the parsley. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time.⏱ 10 min
- Step 3. Minute 17 to about 77: add the lentils, chickpeas, 1 teaspoon of salt and 2.25 litres of water. Bring to the boil, skim, then simmer partly covered for 1 hour. Then bite into a chickpea: it must be fully tender and creamy, and the meat very tender. Chickpeas and pots differ: if they are not ready, keep simmering and check every 10 minutes, for up to 30 more minutes (until about minute 107). If the soup reduces too much, top up with hot water (up to 500 ml in all).⏱ 60 min
- Step 4. In the last 10 minutes before the chickpeas are tender: make the tadouira. Whisk the flour with the 250 ml of cold water until perfectly smooth, pass it through a fine sieve and whisk in the rest of the tomato paste.
- Step 5. Only once the chickpeas are tender (about minute 77 to 107): bring the soup back to a lively boil. Pour in about half of the tadouira in a thin stream, stirring all the time so that no lumps form, and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Judge the consistency: the harira should be velvety and flow like a light cream, not thick. Add more tadouira, little by little, only if you want it thicker; you do not have to use all of it. Simmer for about 10 minutes in all, stirring often, until the foam has gone.⏱ 10 min
- Step 6. About 10 minutes after the tadouira: add the vermicelli and the rest of the coriander and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until the vermicelli are tender (about minute 87 to 95 if the chickpeas were ready at minute 77, later otherwise). Taste and adjust the salt now, because the smen or butter may already be salted, and add hot water if the soup is too thick. Serve piping hot, with lemon slices or wedges for everyone to add to taste.⏱ 8 min
Story and cultural note
Harira is the soup of the Ramadan evening meal: sources describe it served with dates, chebakia, briouats and msemen before the main dishes, and also after a long wedding night or before a naming ceremony. There is no single codified recipe; each family, town and village has its own. All the versions read agree on the base of tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, herbs and a flour or starch tadouira added at the end.
Tips for success
Pass the tadouira through a sieve and pour it in a thin stream while stirring, on a lively boil, to avoid lumps. Soak the chickpeas overnight and, for a finer soup, rub off their skins. Keep the soup, without tadouira and vermicelli, for up to 3 days in the fridge, and add them when you reheat. Check a chickpea before adding the tadouira: it must be fully tender; add the tadouira little by little until the soup is velvety, never pasty. Lemon is served at the table, as an option, so that everyone can adjust the acidity.
Serving and presentation
Serve very hot in deep bowls with lemon slices or wedges to add to taste and a pinch of fresh coriander. For an iftar table, bring dates or dried figs, chebakia and bread alongside.
Diet and allergens
Information declared by the author. CookHuddle does not verify or certify it. If you have an allergy, check the ingredients yourself.
ContainsGluten (cereals)CeleryMilk
