'Soup'er Sundays - Vegetarian Harira

I gather from various online sources that harira is a traditional soup of Morocco, a country of diversified cuisine. Thought it can be had any time, traditonal families usually reserve this soup for those special occasions like dinners of holy Ramadan month or feasts thrown after a wedding. The ingredients used in the soup may vary from region to region. However, the standard recipe has small amounts of meat, lentils, and garbanzo in a tomato base, with spices and herbs thrown in it.
On this chilly day, the idea of curling up on a couch with a bowl of soup seemed so invigorating and hence here is harira - the hearty, harmonius blend of chickpea and lentils. A vegan version of course.



Ingredients needed for 4 servings:
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp fresh ginger - peeled & grated
1 small onion - finely minced
1 celery stick - diced
2 tomatoes - diced (I added tomato & tomato paste)
2 Tbsp lentils (soaking for a couple of hours makes cooking faster)
A handful of garbanzo beans / chana - soaked overnight and cooked till tender or scant 1/2 cup from a can
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder or a 1" cinnamon piece
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Vegetable stock / water - About 5 to 6 cups (I added a Knorr bouillon cube when the water was boiling)
1 - 2 Tbsp flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice from a small lemon
Minced parsely/cilantro for garnish

Making Harira:

• Heat the oil and add the minced ginger and fry till it turns golden brown.
• Then add onion and fry it till it turns translucent.
• After that, add celery and chopped tomatoes and sauté till tomatoes turn mushy.
• Then go the lentils, turmeric powder, cinnamon, cumin powder and about 2 cups of vegetable stock / water.
• Cook till the lentils are tender. Mix the flour with little water and make a paste with out any lumps. Add this paste and the cooked garbanzo and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes more. If using beans from a can, drain the liquid and wash them before adding. Keep adding water as needed through out the process.
• Add salt and pepper. Mix well.
• Stir in the lemon juice and parsley / cilantro.

Harira is going to be a part of -
DK's AWED - Africa guest hosted @ PJ's
Susan's MLLA - 22 edition guest hosted @ Ruchika's
Vegetarian Marathon - Beans @ Silpa's

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