SERVES 10
Ingredients
* 1 cup whole dried fava beans
* 1 cup dried garbanzo beans
* 2 liters water
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 3 cups onions, minced
* 1/2 lb lamb, cut in small pieces
* 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
* 2 teaspoons ground ginger
* 2 teaspoons sweet paprika (the best most vibrant you can find)
* 1/2 teaspoon finely ground nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon finely ground caraway seed
* 3/4 cup tomato paste
* 1 lemon
* 1/2 cup flour
* 1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
* 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped
* 1 cup lentils, soaked for 1 hour 1 in cold water and drained
* 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
* 2-3 teaspoons cooking salt
* 2 cups vermicelli, broken into 1/4-inch pieces
* lemon wedge, for serving
Directions
Rinse and pick over fava beans if you can't get these then use dried broad/lima/butter beans and chickpeas. Soak overnight in water to cover. Quick soak method; place beans in large soup pot and add 2 litres hot water. Bring water to a rolling boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and soak beans for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Squeeze each fava bean and chickpea between your thumb and first two fingers to remove skins. Set aside.
In large soup pot over medium heat, cook the onions and meat (chicken can be used as well as beef or no meat at all though NEVER pork) stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent.
Add turmeric, ginger, paprika and 2 litres water. Cover and bring to rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, add fava beans, chickpeas and cook, covered, until beans are tender. 1 to 1 1/2 hours depending on your beans.
Finely chop together tomatoes, parsley and cilantro. Add this mixture along with the tomato paste, the lentils, pepper, juice of the lemon and drop in 1/2 of the squeezed lemon and salt to taste. Cover and cook until lentils are tender 20 to 25 minutes.
Bring back to the boil and make a fairly thick slurry (flour and water) with the 1/2 cup of flour. Add this to the boiling soup stirring very briskly to avoid lumps. Boil one minute stirring constantly. Add nutmeg and caraway. Bring the soup to medium heat, you just want a nice slow bubbling.
Add pasta (orzo or small soup pasta can be used as well though I always prefer vermicelli) and cook until soft. Taste and add salt to taste and adjust pepper. When soup is heated through, ladle harira into individual soup bowls. Serve immediately with lemon wedges, Moroccan flat bread ("My Rough Khoubz works well) or crusty french baguette. This soup should be velvety, not overly thick.
Prep time does not include soaking the beans.
NB: Harira is eaten all year, not only at Ramadan. In Morocco the nutmeg is ground to a powder which is darker and very pungent. If you cannot find or do your nutmeg this way, then I recommend that you purchase the freshest nutmeg that you can find.
Other Ramadan Recipes:
Deviled Crab Boules with Beurre Blanc
Hajar's Best Moroccan Chorba
Hajar's Own Harira - The National Soup of Morocco
Bademjan - Delicious Persian Stew
Kurdish Kubbeh Khamoustah
Peanut Butter Marshmallow Fluff Coconut Cookie
Mom's (ramadan) sandwiches
Mushroom and Carrots Biryani Recipes
The Best Biryani Recipes
Basboosa - Suji Cake (Arabic Semolina Cake)