Algeria | Soup

Chorba Frik

Algerian tomato, lamb, chickpea, herb, and cracked green wheat soup traditionally served to open Ramadan meals.

Country
Algeria
Region
North Africa
Time
90 min
Serves
6
Level
medium
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Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Chorba frik is the Algerian bowl many families wait for at iftar: lamb, tomato, chickpeas, cilantro, mint, and smoky cracked green wheat cooked into a soup that is hearty but still bright.

What the dish tastes like

Algerian tomato, lamb, chickpea, herb, and cracked green wheat soup traditionally served to open Ramadan meals.

When to cook it

Best for Ramadan iftar, cold evenings, and first-course soup service.. Plan on a medium cook and about 90 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Lemon wedges, bourek, dates, and mint tea.

Regional lane

Algeria national table. A structured Algeria dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs
  • Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
  • Thinning the pot before the body of the soup or stew has developed.
  • Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
How you know it is ready
  • The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
  • The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
  • Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Each recipe supports one main image and up to four extra prep, serving, or step photos when they are available.

Chorba Frik recipe from Algeria
Chorba Frik finished dish
Chef board

Build the table around Chorba Frik

Lemon wedges, bourek, dates, and mint tea.

Best route from here

Algeria national table

Collections to keep cooking
Swallow and Soup Table
Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Algeria
4 steps 20 min prep 70 min cook 90 min total medium
1
Brown the meat
Cook lamb, onion, and celery in oil until the meat loses its raw color and the onion softens.
brown 12:00
2
Make the red broth
Add tomatoes, tomato paste, paprika, pepper, salt, chickpeas, and water, then simmer until the lamb is tender.
simmer 40:00
3
Add frik
Stir in rinsed frik and simmer gently, stirring often so the cracked wheat does not catch.
frik cook 18:00
4
Finish fresh
Fold in cilantro and mint, rest briefly, and serve with lemon.
finish 05:00

Some homes use chicken, others lamb or beef. The frik can be coarse or fine, and the herb balance shifts by region.

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