HARIRA: THE MAGICAL MOROCCAN SOUP

"HARIRA" THE DELICIOUS MOROCCAN SOUP

Harira Moroccan

   Harira is a traditional Moroccan soup. It is a must during the month of Ramadan. It is the dish of the breaking of the fast, that is to say, the first dish that we eat at sunset. This creamy and fragrant spice soup is cooked with meat, legumes and tomatoes.

Generally consumed for breaking the fast during Ramadan, Harira soup is a real complete meal: vegetables, meat, legumes and carbohydrates. Everything is there to compensate for a day without eating! Embellished with spices and herbs that make the particularity of Maghreb cuisine, this soup is a real treat.

In Morocco, women make a dish for breaking the fast: harira 

For all practicing Muslims, during the month of Ramadan, the Koran is formal: no eating, from dawn to sunset. The ordeal is tough ... and even more so when, at midday, the first scents of coriander come out of the kitchen, tickling the hollow bellies. When breaking the fast, women make harira, a soup that is easy to prepare in large quantities and to share - generosity towards the poorest is one of the rules of the month of fasting.

The harira is part of an ancient tradition, inherited from an Andalusian soup, bufertuna (from buena fortuna, "good luck"). Exegetes find mention from the ninth century of a seven-ingredient soup that resembles it. Inside, diced beef, mutton or chicken, legumes (lentils and chickpeas), crushed tomatoes, spices, herbs, a dash of lemon juice ... And, to tie it all together , a crucial ingredient: leaven. It brings to the dish its slightly acid taste and its slightly thick texture.

Every day, after hours when the faithful had neither eaten nor drunk, cannon salutes and calls to prayer mark the end of the effort. We then swallow dates, sometimes stuffed with butter, symbols of sweetness, and a glass of milk, a sign of purity. Then, we immerse in the bowl of harira the traditional lemon wooden spoon. The soup instantly comforts, quenches thirst, fills the stomach, restores balance to the body. And remind the faithful of the meaning of fasting: food is not due, but a gift from God.

it is… delicious! 

Harira Soup:

type of dish: Soup
Moroccan cuisine
preparation time 20 mins
cooking time: 1h
total time: 1h 20 mins
for 6 people

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 150 gr of beef
• 1 celery stalk
• 80 gr lentils
• 600 gr of peeled tomatoes
• 400 gr chickpeas
• 40 gr of vermicelli
• 1 bouillon cube
• 1 small bunch of parsley
• 1 small bunch of coriander
• 1 C. 1 tsp tomato puree
• salt
• pepper
• turmeric
• powdered ginger
• olive oil
• 50 gr of flour
• water

Preparation: 

Step 1 - Harira soup, easy and fragrant In a pot, heat olive oil. Slice the onion and cut the meat into small cubes, then brown them in the oil.

Step 2 - Easy and fragrant Harira Soup Add the lentils, finely chopped celery, chopped tomatoes, and cover with water. Add the drained chickpeas, the bouillon cube, the teaspoon full of tomato puree, and the spices to taste.

Step 3 - Easy and fragrant Harira Soup Finely chop the herbs and add them to the soup. Bring everything to a boil and cook for 1 hour over medium heat.

Step 4 - Harira soup, easy and fragrant. Mix the flour in water and pour this "sauce" into the soup. Add the vermicelli, mix, and cook for 10 minutes.

Step 5 - Easy and fragrant Harira soup Serve with a little fresh coriander and a dash of lemon juice.

And now, your Harira is ready! 

Harira Moroccan

Tips and tricks:

• Herbs: the special flavor of this soup comes from the use of fresh herbs. Do not replace them with dried herbs, otherwise you will not have the desired result.

• Chickpeas: you can also use them dry. It will be enough to let them soak in water overnight before preparation and to check their cooking.

• Vermicelli: here we used vermicelli, but the pasta generally used is bird tongues. You can also replace them with rice, or put nothing.

• The flour binder: this dish being prepared for Ramadan, it must stick to the body, hence the addition of flour. However, this is not mandatory.

• Smen / Rancid Butter: If you want to get as close as possible to the harira as it is consumed in the Maghreb, swap your vegetable broth for a cube of Smen broth. This is rancid butter, which many like to add to their soup. You can find it in an Arab grocery store or in the world cuisine department in supermarkets.

 delicious! …