Harira Soup with Plenty of Chickpeas and Lentils

Okay, don't kill me yet.

It turns out this wonderful traditional soup has a million versions, and from the research I've done, everyone swears their recipe is THE original one.

I can already see the comments: "My mom makes it without noodles," "What's the deal with the tomatoes?!" "You didn't add chard?!"

So, I don't have a Moroccan mother and I didn't eat this soup as a child, and when I eat this incredible soup now, I'm actually bummed I don't have a mom like that.

Anyway, I discovered that Harira in Moroccan means "silk" because it is a soft and caressing soup, just like silk fabric.

So here is my version for a soft, pleasant, and caressing "silk" soup.

The secret to the perfect texture is very thin noodles that I added to the soup; due to their high starch content, they create a wonderful and delicious consistency.

This soup is a complete meal in itself, containing a good amount of protein, dietary fiber, carbohydrates, and fats. Everything you need in one bowl.

Another recipe for soup with chickpeas?

A bit about Harira soup

• The base of the soup consists of red lentils and chickpeas that cook together for a long time, giving the soup its deep and rich flavor.

You can replace the red lentils with green, brown, yellow, or any other lentils you like.

• I used dry chickpeas that I soaked overnight before cooking.
• If you're short on time, you can use frozen or canned chickpeas.
• To make this soup truly perfect, I used a large handful of very thin vermicelli-style noodles that cook with the soup until they become "mushy-mushy" soft.
• You can add the noodles towards the end of the cooking process if you prefer a less soft texture.
• If you want to swap the noodles for a gluten-free version, you can add rice noodles, pearl barley, or lentil pasta.
• All the seasonings in the recipe, like the tomatoes and herbs, are what give the soup its depth of flavor. Don't like one of them? Feel free to change it up however you want.

Nutritional Values for Harira Soup

One bowl of soup out of 7, weighing approximately 500g (depending on the weight of the liquid remaining in the pot) contains:

• 254 calories
• 12g protein
• 39g carbohydrates
• 6g fat

Harira Soup

Prep time 5 minutes

Cook time 1 hour

Servings 7 servings

Calories 254 kcal

Ingredients

• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup dry chickpeas, soaked in water for about 8 hours
• 1 cup uncooked red lentils
• 1 clove sliced garlic
• 3 tomatoes grated
• 1 tsp curry powder or Hawayij for soup (or any soup spice blend)
• 1 flat tsp salt
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 handful thin soup noodles 100g
• 1 bunch chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 bunch chopped parsley leaves
• 3 stalks celery
• 1 juice from half a lemon
• 2 liters water

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large, deep pot.

2. Add the dry spices and salt and stir.

3. Fry the spices for about a minute on low heat, add the garlic slices, and stir.

4. Drain the chickpeas from the soaking water and add them to the pot along with the cup of lentils.

5. Stir well until all the oil and spices coat the chickpeas and lentils.

6. Add the grated tomatoes, noodles, cilantro, and parsley, and stir well.

7. Add water and a teaspoon of baking soda and bring to a boil.

8. Cover and cook on low heat for about an hour.

9. Before serving, squeeze the juice from half a lemon, stir, and serve hot.