Harira: A Moroccan Tomato, Lentil and Chickpea Soup Recipe for Iftar
If shorbat adas opens the iftar table in the Levant, harira does the honours in Morocco. This is the soup of Ramadan sunsets from Tangier to Agadir: a tomato broth made generous with lentils and chickpeas, perfumed with cilantro, parsley and celery, warmed with turmeric and ginger, and finished with a flour whisking — the tadwira — that turns it silky rather than thin. In Moroccan homes it is served the moment the fast breaks, with dates and a squeeze of lemon, often before anything else touches the table.
This version comes from a Moroccan family kitchen and is built entirely on legumes — no meat — which suits it beautifully to its job. After a day without food or water, harira gives back fluid, slow carbohydrate and protein in one bowl, gentle enough for an empty stomach and substantial enough to feel like a meal beginning. It also scales and keeps like a dream: Moroccan cooks make a big pot for a couple of days, and the soup only deepens as it rests. Start it in the late afternoon and it will be ready, steaming, exactly when the Maghrib call sounds.
Ingredients
- 1 large onion
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro (about 1 cup, loosely packed), washed, large stems removed
- 1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley (about 1 cup, loosely packed), washed, large stems removed
- 1 stick celery, coarsely chopped
- 4 ripe tomatoes, skins removed
- 1/2 cup dry green lentils, rinsed and picked over
- 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 vegetable bouillon cube
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas (canned is fine), drained
- 1/2 cup (55 g) thin angel-hair pasta, broken into short pieces
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- About 6 cups (1.5 litres) water, divided
- Lemon wedges and dates, to serve
Method
- Put the onion, half of the cilantro, half of the parsley, the celery and the peeled tomatoes into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Tip the blended vegetables into a large soup pot with 2 cups of the water. Bring to the boil over high heat, then stir in the lentils, salt, pepper, turmeric, ginger, bouillon, olive oil and tomato paste.
- Lower to a steady simmer and cook for 10 minutes, until the lentils are beginning to soften.
- Add the chickpeas, the broken pasta and 4 more cups of water. Bring back to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, blend the flour with 1/4 cup of water until completely smooth. Stir the flour slurry slowly into the soup — this is the tadwira, the whisking that gives harira its silky body — and simmer 5 minutes more, stirring, until the broth turns glossy and lightly thickened.
- Stir in the remaining chopped cilantro and parsley. Rest a few minutes, adjust the salt, and serve hot with lemon wedges and dates alongside.
Rule source: Qur'an 2:183–187 — the Ramadan fast is kept from dawn to sunset ('eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct… then complete the fast until nightfall'); iftar is the meal that breaks it at sunset. No ingredient restrictions apply beyond the standing halal rules; this harira is plant-based, and its bouillon is a vegetable cube.
Notes
- The tadwira matters. The flour-and-water slurry whisked in at the end is what separates harira from an ordinary lentil soup. Add it slowly, stirring constantly, and give it its five minutes to cook out — the broth should coat the spoon.
- Meat versions exist. Many families make harira with small pieces of lamb. If yours does, use halal lamb and brown it with the blended vegetables — but try this legume version once; it is the older, everyday pot.
- Bouillon. The family recipe seasons with half a stock cube; we specify a vegetable cube so the bowl stays plant-based for every guest at the table.
- Make it ahead. Harira keeps 3 days in the fridge and freezes well. It thickens as it stands — loosen with a splash of water when reheating and refresh the lemon at the table.
- The pasta is a handful of broken angel-hair (or fine vermicelli). Add it late, as here, so it stays distinct in the broth.
Frequently asked questions
When is harira eaten during Ramadan?
At iftar, the sunset meal — classically alongside dates, which is how the fast is broken, and often with chebakia or bread at a fuller table.
Is harira vegan?
This version, yes: lentils, chickpeas, vegetables, herbs and olive oil, with a vegetable bouillon cube. That also makes it halal by construction — no pork, no alcohol, no meat at all.
Can I skip the flour slurry?
You can, but the soup will be a thin broth rather than harira's signature silky body. A cornstarch slurry works if you need it gluten-free, and the pasta can be swapped for a gluten-free fine noodle. ---
