Harira is a traditional Moroccan soup served during Ramadan. It contains lentils, chickpeas, broth, tomato, onion, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, and pepper, with meat, flour, or eggs added. It is served with fruit, pastries, and drinks. Harira has many variations and is a lengthy process to prepare.
Harira is a traditional soup of Moroccan cuisine which is usually served as the first food to break the daily fast observed by Muslims during the month of Ramadan. The soup is served throughout Morocco and there are many versions, but the ingredients that characterize it are the combination of lentils and chickpeas, broth, tomato, onion, ginger, cinnamon, saffron and pepper. Meat is a common addition, as is flour or beaten eggs to thicken the broth. In Ramadan, soup is often served alongside dried and fresh fruit, pastries, boiled eggs, and milk, juice, or coffee.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and most adult Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset every day during that month. A large evening meal is served to compensate for daytime fasting, but in Morocco it is traditional to serve a lighter meal of harira, drinks, fruit and pastries immediately after sunset and the larger meal thereafter. Harira is also sometimes eaten early in the morning before the day’s fast begins.
Like most traditional dishes, harira has countless regional and family variations. Especially common is the addition of lemon juice and beaten eggs. While meat is not the focus of the soup, it is usually used and can be chicken, lamb or, less often, beef. Potatoes, rice or noodles are common additions. A traditional way to prepare the soup uses a small piece of a Moroccan type of sourdough as a thickening agent, which also adds an acidic quality to the broth.
Vegetables sometimes used include spinach, carrots, celery, shallots, or green onions. Spices reflect the wide variety used in North African cooling, and in addition to the basic ginger, cinnamon, saffron and pepper can include coriander, parsley, mint, coriander, cumin, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, mace, cardamom, paprika , turmeric and chili power. Smen, a salted, preserved butter very similar to ghee, is a frequent addition and adds a distinctive flavor reminiscent of parmesan.
Traditional preparation of harira is a lengthy process due to the number of ingredients and the time required to cook it. Dried lentils and chickpeas should be soaked and tough skins should be removed from the chickpeas. Using canned chickpeas eliminates the longest part of the process. There are a lot of vegetables and spices to prepare, and some cooks will do that part of the preparation first and freeze the ingredients. Harira cooks well in a slow cooker, which reduces the need to watch her cook.
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