Chorbat ad’ss: lentil soup with vegetables شربة عدس بالخضار

Chunky version

Smooth version

Lentil’s soup in the Middle East, Egypt and Sudan is the equivalent of ‘Chorba Frik’ in Algeria and ‘Harira’ in Morocco during the month of Ramadan. The basic ingredient in this soup is red split lentil (unknown off in Algeria). It melts as it cooks giving the soup it's creamy texture. I tasted two versions of this soup, the first one made richer by the addition of other vegetables; the second one is lighter but calls for the use of tomatoes.

I prepared the first version today, but I added turmeric (an Asian ingredient) to have a vibrant yellowish colour and a distinctive taste.

You can serve two ways: smooth or chunky.

I prepare this soup at least once a week and my boys really enjoy it. We have this funny story in our family when the boys discovered the chunky vegetables swimming in the thick broth, one of them went: 'There are vegetables in the soup'

Surprise, surprise!!!!!


Ingredients:
2 cups (split red lentils)
1 litre stock (either chicken or lamb or vegetables)
2 medium onions
1 medium potato
1 medium courgette
1 medium carrot
2 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon juice
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp coriander
Salt
Pepper
A handful of chopped coriander leaves



Steps:

1.     Chop the vegetables into medium-size chunks.

2.     heat olive oil in cooking pot, add vegetables, and cook for 5 minutes on low heat

3.     Wash lentils until the water is clear

4.     Add stock to vegetable and bring to boil. Add the lentils.

5.     Lower the heat to simmer and cook for about ½ hour or until the lentils is tender.

6.     Puree the mixture in either a food processor or blender and return to pot. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt and pepper to soup and stir slowly over low heat for about 3 minutes.

7.     you can also skip the blending stage if you want a chunky soup (the result is something between a stew and a soup)

8.     Decorate with chopped coriander. (you can also add a drizzle of olive oil or a dusting of cumin for extra flavour)

Chorba Frik ‘ Jari’ ‘جاري’ شربة فريك

‘Chorba Frik’ (soup with Frik) also called ‘Jari’ (the runny one) is the traditional soup by ‘excellence’ in Algeria, a little bit like ‘Harira’ is in Morocco. As usual there so many ways to prepare it according to regions and availability of ingredients: more or less spices, more or less herbs, with or without chickpeas, with chicken or meat or with both, with or without the addition of vegetables (even with sardines or prawns)…

This soup is an indispensable item on the Ramadan tables; a bowl of Chorba starts the meal of breaking the fast, served with freshly prepared Kesra or Matlou (Algerian breads). In my husband's family they will have every night in Ramadan: 30 Chorbas + 30 Matlou

The special ingredient in this soup is Frik which is green cracked wheat. It is difficult to find in the UK but could be replaced by burghul or even vermicelli pasta. But if you manage to get some Frik, I promise you a soup with a unique taste and texture.

Ingredients:

250g of lamb meat (on the bone cut into small pieces)
250g of chicken pieces (on the bone cut into small pieces)
1 big onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 celery stick
1 small carrot finely grated
1 small courgette finely grated
(Optional) 1 or 2 fresh green mild chillies
1 teacup Frik or burghul (cracked wheat)
½ cup ready cooked chickpeas
½ tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato pate
1 to 2 tbsp Olive oil
1 cup of chopped coriander leaves
2 tbsp dried mint (or fresh)
½ tbsp coriander powder
½ tbsp cinnamon
½ tbsp paprika
Black pepper
Salt
(Optional) Lemon wedges



Steps:

1.      Heat the oil then add the meat, onion, carrot, courgette, salt, pepper and the rest of the spices. Mix everything and cook on a low heat to sweat the onions and the vegetables

2.      When onions are soft add 1 to 1 ½ litre of water and the chillies and cook until meat is cooked.

3.      Add tomatoes, chickpeas and burghul and leave to cook for 15 to 20 minutes

4.      Check seasoning, then add mint and coriander leaves

5.      Serve with a nice piece of bread and a squeeze of a fresh lemon