Harira – A Taste of Morocco
Are we ready to go back to healthy eating after all those cakes, cookies & holiday dinners? I am. I have indulged, baked a lot & my clothes are not too happy with how they fit:-) So how about a bowl full of soup? no not bland… the soup which spells flavor & sensations! Bursting with sense awakening taste with every spoonful…I am talking about Harira… The Traditional Moroccan Soup usually served during the month of Ramadan to break the fast. It is also served during any special celebrations like weddings. Usually lamb or beef is added to the soup, but it can be done without meat too.
Well it does not have to be eaten for an ocassion… it can be savored anytime, for it does taste really really good. It is a dish by itself, as it contains all the wholesome goodness of lentils, chickpeas, vegetables, rice or pasta & above all tantalizing spices & herbs… the taste & aroma which is hard to forget & make you crave for more.
So here it is… I looked for a traditional recipe, most of them were kind of alike with the same ingredients. This is a vegetarian version of the Harira, I did add a few more veggies than the traditional recipes- that however did not interfere with the taste. Do not get intimidated by the long list of ingredients, a lot of them are spices required only in small quantities.
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Large Onion — sliced
- 1cup Tomatoes Puree(can use canned ones too)
- 1/2 cup Chopped Celery Stalks
- 2 Big Carrots Chopped
- 1 Medium Potatoes, peeled & cubed
- 1 Big Zucchini/or any squash cubed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger ( I used fresh grated ginger)
- 1/2″ cinnamon stick
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin/jeera
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander/dhania
- A pinch of caraway seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- A generous pinch of saffron — crushed
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro/coriander leaves
- A fist ful of flat leaf parsley
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup lentils ( I used red lentils/masoor dal)
- water/vegetable stock
- 1 cup garbanzo beans/Chickpeas/Chana (about 16 oz can) – cooked, with liquid
- 1/4 cup orzo (or any other small pasta you will use)
- 1 tablespoon of flour (to thicken the soup…. I have used this instead of egg)
- lemon wedges — as desired/garnish
- Harissa Paste ( I have used my homemade Harissa)
- Chopped dates or raisins or figs.. any dry fruit you would want to add for garnish
Preparation:
If you are using garbanzo beans/ chickpeas not in the can, you will need to boil/cook them first.
Heat the Olive Oil. Add the celery & the onion. Stir fry till the onions are transluscent & slightly brown.
Add the Lentils, Potato, Zucchini/or any squash, Carrots, Cumin, Coriander, Caraway seeds, Cinnamon sticks, Paprika, Turmeric, Ginger & Saffron. Stir fry at medium heat till you get a smoked aroma. At this stage the spices mature and you will have the spicy, smoky fragrance. Be careful not to overdue or the spices will burn.
Add the water/stock, salt, tomato puree, black pepper, & garbanzo/chickpeas. Cover & boil at medium heat for about 15 -20 minutes.
Whisk the flour to about 1/2 cup water till smooth, & add it to the soup. Add the orzo/any other pasta. (If you want a soup of thicker consistency, do add a little bit more flour).
Add the parsely & the cilantro/fresh coriander leaves. Cover & Simmer at low heat for about another 20 minutes.
Ladle in to bowls. Below is the hot steaming soup, just cooked.
Squeeze lemon in to the soup. Garnish with fresh cilantro/coriander leaves, chopped dates or raisins & harissa. If needed, you can mop it off with any kind of bread you want, like any Turkish flatbread or Poee.
I actually loved the addition of the sweet dates or raisins. It is a perfect blend of taste that will surely tickle all your tastebuds.
This is by far the best vegetable soup I have ever tasted. The richness of flavor with the saffron & the other spices, is just beyond compare. During this time of the year, with all the spices in it, the taste is divine. I cannot say enough about how healthy it is.. Every spoonful is loaded with the vegetables, the protein of the lentils & the beans & also added is the slight carb you need in the pasta. It is just a complete meal in itself.
Sending this to FIC:YELLOW hosted my Sunshine mom of Tongue Ticklers, MLLA Seventh Helping hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons & started by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook, JFI:Chickpeas hosted by Sometime Foodie, & originally conceived by Indira & No Croutons Required: Vegetables Soup hosted by Lisa’s Kirchen.
Do make yourself a bowl of Harira & Enjoy!
Related Posts:
Minestrone Soup
Poee:Mildly Spiced Goan Bread
Tags: African cuisine, african soup, Algeria, break the fast, Chana, chickpea soup, garbanzo beans, harira, harissa, how to make harira?, minced chicken, moroccan cuisine, ramadan, ramadan break, Saffron, soup pf africa, soup with chickpeas, spice in soup, spices, traditional moroccan soup, vegan, vegetable soup recipe, vegetables lentil soup, vegetarian harira, what is harira
January 7th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Yes, I am ready for healthy eating! This looks wonderful!
Thanks Maryann:-)
January 7th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Goodness,thats a perfect nutriotious treat..tempting color and looks yummy..
Thanks Ann:-)
January 7th, 2009 at 9:07 am
Yeah i totally agree about the healthy eating after all the parties.
This looks really delicious and comforting.
Thanks you!
January 7th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Oh, So YUM! What a winter meal, thank you for this!
Thanks Supriya!
January 7th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Thats such a wonderful dish!..looks very delicious soma..thanks for the lovely entry!
Thanks Srivalli:-)
January 7th, 2009 at 9:59 am
This is so nutritious !! Can supplement for a whole meal !! Well done Soma !
Thanks Mohana
January 7th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Hi soma,
thank you for your lovely Moroccan soup for JFI Chickpea. Looks really nutritious.
best,
ms
Thanks a lot.
January 7th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Looks very filling ur soup, delicious way to eat dinner
Yes we loved our dinner! Thanks.
January 7th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Hey Soma, the pictures are absolutely beautiful and tempting, esp the first one!! The soup sounds great!!
Thanks JZ!
January 7th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Wonderful comforting soup for a winter day, looks delicious!
Thank you Asha!
January 7th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
wow awesome click. never tasted this dish. but looks great.
Thanks Mahimaa.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Hi soma, thanks for visting my blog. This is such a lovely one pot meal. And I can imagine how delicious the dates/raisins will be with the spices. I am definitely going to make this soon, will keep you posted when do make it.
January 7th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Knock knock!! It’s me, and I am all set for a sip off that bowl:) Thank you Soma, for the delicious soup at FIC-Yellow:)
January 7th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Lovely dear,I too had planned on this.This looks too tempting and perfect
January 7th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Hi Soma,
Loooks delicious. Healthy recipe and a beautiful click too. Thanks for droppiong in my blog.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Harira looks delicious, thx for the lovely recipe!will try it out soon.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
Soma,
soup looks great and comforting , perfect for this winter season..
eyi tate ki keema aar vermicelli add kore , tumaar ta veg -version na ..
hugs and smiles
January 7th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
looking delicious and yummy n nice colur
January 8th, 2009 at 1:24 am
Delicious soup Soma…i had once this soup..thanks for sharing..need to try now..
January 8th, 2009 at 1:58 am
This is what truly is a bowl of goodness
January 8th, 2009 at 3:27 am
My! What a gamut of spices and stuff! Inspite of the long list I find it very doable … kintu veg version ta korte hobe amaye. Garbanzo beans er bodole ki use korte pari ektu janio.
January 8th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Moroccan food is a huge favorite- it’s healthy and delicious, so what’s not to love? This soup looks amazing, and would be wonderful on a winter’s night.
January 8th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Looks delicious, very authentic…. nice presentation too..
January 8th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I am totally ready after all those cakes and cookies! Never had this before… looks nice and filling.
January 8th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
i remember eating something similar at a mediterranean restaurant. this looks great.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
I would just love that bowl of harira now. Or any spicy soup – not a soup fan, but I am all for it once you start adding the spices.
January 8th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Please please count me in. It is just not the holidays, but my clothes are not happy with me all the time
. The soup is perfect for this weather and the first picture with different colors and combination of bowls looks beautiful.
January 8th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Soma, I stopped by to tank you for your visit to my blog. I’ve stayed awhile. You’ve done beautiful work here. This is a lovely blog. My compliments ….Mary
January 8th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
wow so many goodies in one soup..it sure is a nutritious and healthy treat for anyone and anytime
January 9th, 2009 at 7:03 am
This is such a wonderful and healthy soup,loved the flavors used in this too….this is going into my must try asap folder
January 9th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
harissa in harira sounds spicy,and the fruit toppings,looks like a perfect meal:)
January 9th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
I love Moroccan food, and Harirra is one old time favorite soup. Yours look mighty delicious.
Cheers,
Elra
January 9th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
wow whole meal in one beautiful bowl looks so tempting and helthy too
January 13th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
lovely soup! Yes, count me in too.
January 16th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Thanks for sending this along for our event. I wish I had a bowl of this lovely soup in front of me right now. I have been enjoying looking through your blog and have added you to my google reader.
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:45 pm
this looks truly delicious.
i used to make harira for my husband but i never liked it very much. for some reason i don’t enjoy cinnamon in a savoury context.
your soup looks so good that i think it’s time to try harira again!
Thanks Anna! Just make it without the cinnamon!
January 29th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Mmmm!
I made this tonight… thank you for the recipe inspiration!! It was super tasty. I used the traditional egg / lemon mixture for thickener since I was out of white flour, and had to forgo the cilantro & caraway. There’s something so delicious about those spices and lemon in a thick soup like this! It so nice to have a vegetarian version of this dish…
Just as a note, I think you forgot to say when to add the zucchini (I threw them in with the chickpeas), or what to do with the cinnamon stick (I just gave a couple of shakes of the ground version during the spice additions).
I will definitely be making this again, and I’ve bookmarked your site. Thanks again, and happy 2009 to you!
Thank you so much for letting me know that u tried it out & enjoyed it Kristin. I really really appreciate it. I did forget to mention about the zucchini & the cinnamon sticks. Thanks again for pointing those out:-) I have updated the post!
March 29th, 2009 at 3:16 am
You are a very smart person!