Harira is the brick-red Moroccan broth of chickpeas, lentils, tomato, onion and lamb, thickened with tadouira (flour-water slurry), traditionally broken with a date to end the Ramadan fast.

Harira is the canonical iftar (fast-breaking) soup of Ramadan across Morocco, served the moment the sundown call to prayer sounds. The dish is medieval; references appear in the 13th-century Hispano-Maghrebi cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh. Outside Ramadan, harira shifts to the streets: bowls for 10 to 15 MAD at Jemaa el-Fna are year-round Marrakech budget food, especially on cold winter nights.

Where to eat Harira in Marrakech

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Make it at home

Serves Serves 61 hr 30 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 300 g lamb shoulder, diced small
  • 100 g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
  • 100 g green lentils
  • 800 g ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or 1 tin)
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Pinch saffron
  • Bunch coriander and parsley, chopped
  • 50 g vermicelli, broken
  • 100 g plain flour mixed with 200 ml water (tadouira)
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • Salt, pepper, dates to serve

Method

  1. Sweat onions in olive oil at the bottom of a deep pot. Add lamb; brown 5 minutes. Add spices, garlic, tomato paste; stir 1 minute.
  2. Add chickpeas, tomatoes and 2 L water. Simmer 1 hour until chickpeas yield.
  3. Add lentils and herbs. Cook 25 minutes more until tender.
  4. Add vermicelli; cook 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in the flour-water slurry, stirring constantly to thicken without lumps.
  5. Off heat, stir in lemon juice. Serve very hot with a date on the side; the Moroccan ritual is to bite the date, then take the first spoonful.

Editor tip. The tadouira (flour-water slurry) is what makes harira velvety. Whisk constantly as you pour it in; lumps mean wasted soup.

Common allergens: Gluten.