Harira (Moroccan lentil and chickpea soup)

5 from 3 votes

Harira (Moroccan lentil and chickpea soup)

This wonderfully comforting soup/stew is perfect to warm you up on a cold day, as well as being traditional for Iftar during Ramadan.

Prep Time15

Cook Time2 20

soaking time (overnight)12

Total Time2 35

Course: Appetizer/Starter, Lunch or main

Cuisine: Moroccan

Servings: approx

Calories: 320kcal

Author: Caroline's Cooking

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Ingredients

½ cup dried chickpeas
1 stem celery
½ onion
2 tablespoon cilantro coriander (chopped volume)
2 tablespoon parsley (chopped volume)
1 tablespoon olive oil or a little more, if needed
4 oz lamb stew meat or you can use beef (or omit - see notes)
1 teaspoon salt (or more/less to taste)
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried ginger (or less if you prefer less of a spice)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 cup tomato passata or use finely chopped tomatoes
4 ¼ cups water divided
½ tablespoon butter or smen (optional)
⅓ cup green lentils
1 tablespoon tomato paste (UK: tomato puree)
2 tablespoon flour
3 tablespoon vermicelli or eg broken angel hair/other small pasta
a little lemon juice and cilantro, to serve

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

The night before

Place the dried chickpeas in a bowl with plenty of water and leave to soak overnight. Be aware, they will expand quite a lot so make sure the bowl has plenty space and water.

The day of cooking

Finely chop the celery and grate the onion. Finely chop the cilantro and parsley. Cut the lamb into a medium dice. If you prefer, and have time, peel off the outer layer from the chickpeas
Warm the oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot with a lid and start by browning the meat all over. Once the meat has a good sear, add the celery and onion and cook a minute or two to soften.
Then, add the spices (salt, pepper, ginger, cinnamon and turmeric) and stir to mix through. Add the chickpeas, tomato passata, cilantro, parsley and 2 cups (480ml) of water (as well as butter/smen if using) and stir well. Cover and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat so that it boils but not too heavily and let the mixture cook for around 1 hour until the chickpeas are starting to soften.
Meanwhile, soak the lentils in water. Add the tomato paste to a further 2 cups (480ml) of water and mix to dissolve.
Once the chickpeas have been cooking about an hour, add the lentils and water with tomato paste. Bring back to a simmer and again cover and let cook for around 50 minutes to an hour. By this time, the chickpeas and lentils should both be cooked.
Shortly before the soup has finished this last cook, mix the flour and remaining ¼ cup (4 tbsp/60ml) of water in a small bowl to form a smooth paste.
Add the vermicelli to the pot then gradually add a little of the flour paste and stir through. You will feel the soup starting to get thicker. Continue adding a little then stirring through until you get the consistency you want - you will probably need all or close to all. Then, cover and let cook a further 10 minutes until the pasta has cooked through. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice to give a little extra added freshness and/or some additional chopped cilantro on top (optional).

Video

Notes

You don't need to use meat in this recipe, but it does help to add flavor. If you choose to omit and make vegetarian/vegan then use vegetable stock instead of some or all of the water to add some additional flavor. Then, reduce the salt since the stock is likely seasoned (quite a lot for store bought, if homemade then judge based on how you have made it).

Nutrition