Harira — Moroccan Tomato and Lentil Soup
The Moroccan tomato, lentil and chickpea soup that breaks the fast in Ramadan, thickened with a flour-and-water tadouira.
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot and brown the meat, if using, for 5 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Add the onions and celery and cook for 8 minutes until softened, then stir in the ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and pepper and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, then the blended tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes until the mixture darkens and loses its raw edge.
- Add the drained chickpeas, the lentils, half the herbs and the water. Bring to a boil, then simmer partially covered for 50 to 60 minutes, until the pulses are tender. Season with salt only once they have softened.
- Whisk the flour and cold water mixture again until perfectly smooth; this is the tadouira that gives harira its body.
- Pour it into the simmering soup in a thin stream while stirring constantly in one direction. Keep stirring for 2 to 3 minutes as it thickens, or the flour will sink and catch.
- Add the vermicelli and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes more, stirring often, until the pasta is cooked and the soup has a velvety, slightly thickened texture rather than a floury one.
- Stir in the remaining herbs, taste for salt, and add a squeeze of lemon.
- Serve very hot with lemon wedges, dates and chebakia on the side.
How to make Harira — Moroccan Tomato and Lentil Soup
For a month each year, harira is the first hot food of the evening in millions of Moroccan homes. It is served at iftar with dates and sweet chebakia, a combination of savoury, sweet and sour that has been repeated for generations.
Tadouira, the thickener
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The flour-and-water mixture stirred in near the end is what gives harira its distinctive silky body. Three rules make it work: whisk it absolutely smooth, pour it in slowly while stirring, and keep stirring for a few minutes afterwards. Dumped in quickly, it forms lumps that never disperse.
Herbs in two stages
Half the coriander and parsley goes in early to cook into the base, half at the end for freshness. Celery leaves, often discarded elsewhere, are an important part of the flavour here.
With or without meat
Lamb is traditional, but harira is frequently made meat-free, particularly as a nightly dish through Ramadan. Leave the meat out and the method is unchanged; the lentils and chickpeas carry it.
Resting and reheating
Harira thickens substantially overnight. Loosen it with water when reheating and stir frequently, since the flour-thickened soup catches easily on the base of the pot.
Traditional Moroccan cookery; harira is served nightly through Ramadan, usually with dates and chebakia. Editorially researched from widely documented preparations, and not kitchen-tested by Axadle.
Contains gluten from the flour thickener and the vermicelli. Dairy-free and egg-free. Use cornflour and rice instead of flour and vermicelli for a gluten-free version.
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