Morocco | Soup

Harira

Name: Harira
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Morocco, North Africa
Ingredients: 250 g lamb or beef, small cubes; 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight; ¾ cup brown lentils, rinsed; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 large onion, finely diced; 2 stalks celery, finely chopped; 500 g crushed tomatoes; ½ cup cilantro, chopped; ½ cup parsley, chopped; 1 tsp ground ginger; 1 tsp turmeric; ½ tsp cinnamon; ½ cup vermicelli or thin noodles; 3 tbsp plain flour, mixed with water into a slurry; 1 whole lemon, juiced; 8 cups water or stock; salt and black pepper, to taste

Moroccan harira, a Ramadan tomato soup with lamb, chickpeas, lentils, celery, herbs, vermicelli, and lemon.

Country

Morocco

Region

North Africa

Time

100 min

Serves

Level

easy

Start cooking Explore Morocco recipes

01 / Get ready

Everything you need

Tap each ingredient as you gather it. Illustrations are visual guides; follow the ingredient names and quantities.

Servings 8

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

Jump to method My cookbook

Ingredients

For 8 servings

Soup

A few kitchen essentials

Suggested from the recipe method. Use equivalent equipment you have.

Lidded pot

Wooden spoon

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

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

Back to Morocco

5 steps 25 min prep 75 min cook (check method) 100 min total easy

Brown base

Heat oil and brown meat if using. Add onion and celery and cook until soft.

Cook base 08:00

Spice tomatoes

Add ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, pepper, tomatoes, cilantro, and parsley. Cook until fragrant.

Cook tomatoes 06:00

Simmer legumes

Add chickpeas, lentils, and water or stock. Simmer until the chickpeas and lentils are tender.

Simmer soup 55:00

Add noodles

Stir in vermicelli and cook until tender.

Cook vermicelli 07:00

Thicken and brighten

Whisk in the flour slurry gradually and simmer until silky. Finish with lemon juice and adjust salt.

Thicken harira 10:00

Every household has small variations. Start here, then adjust seasoning, heat, and serving sides to your kitchen.

Cooking notes, photos & serving ideas

Recipe context

More about this dish

Serving ideas, regional context, and cooking cues for when you want more detail.

When to cook it

Best for Ramadan iftar. Plan on a easy cook. Allow about 100 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Dates, lemon wedges, chebakia, hard-boiled eggs, or crusty bread

Regional lane

Soups, salads, and dips. Harira, fava bean soup, cooked salads, and vegetable sides for bread-led meals.

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.

Pantry lane

preserved lemon, green olives, saffron, ras el hanout, semolina

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Take a closer look at the dish and its serving ideas.

Harira recipe from Morocco — Harira finished dish

Chef board

Build the table around Harira

Dates, lemon wedges, chebakia, hard-boiled eggs, or crusty bread

Best route from here

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