Maraq Digaag — Somali Chicken Soup
A clear, fragrant Somali chicken soup with xawaash and lime, served with rice or torn flatbread to soak it up.
Method
- Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and brown the chicken, skin-side down first, for 4 to 5 minutes a side. Work in batches and remove to a plate.
- Add the chopped onion to the pot and cook over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes until soft and lightly golden, scraping the base as you go.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger, xawaash and turmeric and cook for 1 minute until aromatic, then add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes until they break down into a thick base.
- Return the chicken to the pot along with the quartered onion and pour in the water. Bring to a gentle boil, then skim off any foam that rises to the surface so the broth stays clear.
- Reduce the heat, cover partially and simmer for 25 minutes. Keep it at a lazy simmer rather than a rolling boil, which clouds the soup and toughens the meat.
- Add the carrots and potatoes and simmer uncovered for a further 15 to 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender to the point of a knife and the chicken pulls easily from the bone.
- Taste the broth and season carefully with salt; it should be savoury and fragrant rather than sharply spiced.
- Stir in the lime juice off the heat, which lifts the whole pot, then scatter over the coriander.
- Serve in deep bowls with rice, canjeero or muufo for dipping, and lime wedges and basbaas on the side.
How to make Maraq Digaag — Somali Chicken Soup
Maraq is the backbone of Somali home cooking: a light, aromatic broth built on bones, onion, tomato and xawaash. Digaag means chicken, but the same method carries goat, lamb or beef, and the soup appears at lunch, at dinner, and above all at iftar during Ramadan, when a bowl of maraq is often the first food after the fast.
Clear broth, patient heat
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The difference between a good maraq and a muddy one is heat control. Skim the foam in the first few minutes, then hold the pot at a bare simmer where only a few bubbles break the surface. A hard boil emulsifies the fat and clouds everything.
Lime at the end
Acid is added off the heat, not during cooking. A squeeze of lime at the end sharpens the spices and makes the broth taste brighter; boiling it dulls the effect immediately.
Variations
Goat or lamb on the bone needs 75 to 90 minutes of simmering before the vegetables go in. Some households add cabbage, courgette or a handful of rice to make it more substantial, and a cinnamon stick or a few cardamom pods can go in with the xawaash.
Storage
Maraq improves overnight as the spices settle. Cool it quickly, refrigerate for up to three days and lift off any set fat before reheating gently. It freezes well without the potatoes, which turn grainy.
Traditional Somali home cooking; maraq is the everyday soup eaten across Somali households, often at iftar during Ramadan. Editorially researched from widely documented preparations, and not kitchen-tested by Axadle.
Naturally free from gluten, dairy, egg and nuts. Check stock cubes for wheat and celery if you use them.
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