A traditional Ramadan course: Harira

Harira is the traditional Moroccan soup.

It is usually eaten at the end of the day (ftour) to break the fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It is generally served with hard-boiled eggs sprinkled with salt and cumin, dates and other favorite dried fruits like figs and chabakia (honeyed pastries).

The ingredients of harira vary depending on regions and from a family to another.

The following recipe has been collected by Peta Mathias.

Serves 6

Ingredients

-       1 tbsp smen (rancid butter) or 2 tbsp butter or olive oil

-       2 onions (250 g), chopped

-       2 tbsp celery leaves, chopped

-       ½ cup parsley, chopped

-       1 tsp turmeric

-       1 tsp salt

-       Freshly ground white pepper

-       ½ tsp cinnamon

-       2 pinches saffron

-       ½ tsp paprika

-       500 g lamb in 1 cm cubes

-       Giblets and trimmings of 1 chicken

-       ½ cup green lentils

-       2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

-       1 kg very ripe tomatoes, peeled and puréed or 2 x 400 g tins of tomatoes

-       2 tbsp tomato paste

-       1 litre lamb or chicken stock or water

-       3 tbsp flour

-       Lemon wedges

Method

1. Heat fat in a large pot and sauté the onions, celery leaves, parsley and turmeric for about five minutes. Then add salt, pepper, cinnamon, saffron, paprika, lamb and chicken bits. Continue sautéing until golden, for about fifteen minutes.
2. Add lentils, coriander, tomatoes, tomato paste and stock or water. Bring to boil then lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for half an hour or until lentils are soft.
3. Whisk flour with enough water to make a runny paste and add, stirring all the time, to the soup. Cook for about five minutes.

Serve in bowls with lemon wedges on the side.

Peta Mathias, Culinary Adventures in Marrakech, Penguin