Harira — Moroccan Tomato Lentil Soup
The comforting soup that breaks the Ramadan fast: chickpeas, lentils, tender lamb, and tomatoes in a spiced, silky broth thickened with flour and finished with lemon.
🛒 Ingredients
- 300g lamb shoulder, diced small
- 200g green lentils
- 400g tin chickpeas, drained
- 400g tin crushed tomatoes
- 2 large onions, grated
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
- 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp plain flour mixed with water (tadwira)
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 100g thin vermicelli noodles
👨🍳 Method
- 1
Brown lamb in a large pot. Add onions, spices, and a little oil; cook 5 minutes.
- 2
Add tomatoes, cilantro, parsley, and 2L water. Bring to boil.
- 3
Add lentils; simmer 30 minutes.
- 4
Add chickpeas and continue simmering 15 minutes.
- 5
Whisk flour-water paste until smooth. Stir into the soup to thicken.
- 6
Add vermicelli and cook 5 more minutes.
- 7
Stir in lemon juice just before serving.
- 8
Garnish with fresh cilantro.
💡 Chef's Tips
- →The flour paste must be stirred in gradually to prevent lumps.
- →Add lemon juice at the end only — it brightens and lifts the whole soup.
- →This soup thickens considerably as it cools — add water when reheating.
More Moroccan Recipes
Moroccan Lamb Tagine
Slow-braised lamb shoulder with preserved lemons, green olives, fragrant ras el hanout, and sweet apricots over fluffy couscous.
Chicken Bastilla
Morocco's show-stopping pie of flaky warqa pastry encasing spiced chicken with eggs, toasted almonds, and dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Sweet and savory magic.
Mechoui Slow-Roasted Lamb
A whole leg of lamb rubbed with a cumin-coriander-butter paste and slow-roasted for hours until the meat falls from the bone with barely a touch.