Harira - Moroccan Lamb Stew

Name: Harira - Moroccan Lamb Stew
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 45 min
Yield: 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 lb cubed lamb; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper; 2 tablespoons margarine; 3/4 cup chopped celery; 1 onion, chopped; 1 red onion, chopped; 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro; 1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes; 7 cups water; 3/4 cup green lentil; 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained; 4 ounces vermicelli; 2 eggs, beaten; 1 lemon, juiced

Submitted by Mirj2338

"I learned how to make this from an ex-boyfriend's mother. This stew has a very unique flavor. You can substitute beef if you prefer."

Download

photo by um-um-good

Ready In:: 2hrs 45mins
Ingredients:: 18
Serves:: 6

ingredients

1 lb cubed lamb
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground ginger
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons margarine
³⁄₄ cup chopped celery
1 onion, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
¹⁄₂ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes
7 cups water
³⁄₄ cup green lentil
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
4 ounces vermicelli
2 eggs, beaten
1 lemon, juiced

directions

Place the lamb, turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, margarine, celery, onion, and cilantro into a large soup pot over a low heat.
Stir frequently for 5 minutes.
Pour tomatoes (reserve juice) into the mixture and let simmer for 15 minutes.
Pour tomato juice, 7 cups water, and the lentils into the pot.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer.
Let soup simmer, covered, for 2 hours.
About 10 minutes before serving turn the heat to medium-high, place chickpeas and noodles into the soup, let cook about 10 minutes (until noodles are al dente).
Stir in lemon and eggs, let eggs cook 1 minute.

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!

Reviews

Oh my goodness! This was a fantastic soup. The flavors combinations are delicious. The only thing I changed was the cooking technique. As the spice mixture is very similar to what Indian's use, I used my mothers method for cooking just about anything. Saute onions for a few minutes, then add spices, cook a few minutes more-until the oils have released then continue as directed. It came out beautifully! Thanks for a great simple recipe.

RehReh
I hate to give such an average rating; but, it smelled sooo delicious; but, i found the flavour really disappointed. I went through every review adding any extras that others have added & still felt the flavour's just didn't add up to a great recipe. sorry. the stew was edible; but, i won't try it again. sorry :(

um-um-good
This was my 1st attempt in making this dish - and we LOVED it! I used bone-in lamb pieces, added 2 cloves garlic, used red lentils instead of green and skipped the eggs. Also, I first sauteed the onions and garlic just to brown it up a bit and then added in the spices, lamb and salt, then carried on as per the recipe. DH, who avoids lentils like the plague, did not whinge! Next time, I shall add in a few strands of saffron and maybe try to spice it up a bit more by adding ground cumin and coriander. Thank you, Mirj, for sharing this wonderful recipe!

AaliyahsAaronsMum
I did like this stew, however I felt a few things were lacking. For one, this recipe does not call for salt, so I think it would be better to salt the lamb cubes before adding them to the pot. Also, The recipe asks you to throw mostly everything in at once, I would suggest sauteing the onions first, then add seasoned lamb and brown, then follow the the remailing ingredients.(I also added three garlic cloves, I can't imagine eating lamb without garlic) I used olive oil instead of butter (lamb is fatty enough). In the future I think I will use lamb that still has the bone. I used boneless leg of lamb and both my husband and I were dissappointed that we could not taste much of the lamb in this "Lamb Stew" I do think that the bone would have imparted more flavor. I also omited the vermicelli since the soup has enough starch with the lentils and garbanzos. All in all I think it is a good recipe and I would make it again.

theAmateurPastryChef
After staring at the picture I noticed (upper right hand corner) that there are carrots in it! I added them (3) along with salt and garlic. I also used buckwheat noodles (soba) instead of vermicelli. Definitely will make it again.

sushied

see 10 more reviews

Tweaks

This was my 1st attempt in making this dish - and we LOVED it! I used bone-in lamb pieces, added 2 cloves garlic, used red lentils instead of green and skipped the eggs. Also, I first sauteed the onions and garlic just to brown it up a bit and then added in the spices, lamb and salt, then carried on as per the recipe. DH, who avoids lentils like the plague, did not whinge! Next time, I shall add in a few strands of saffron and maybe try to spice it up a bit more by adding ground cumin and coriander. Thank you, Mirj, for sharing this wonderful recipe!

AaliyahsAaronsMum
Harira is traditionally served as the evening meal to break fast during Ramadan. Consequently, it's meant to be both hearty and very nourishing. Most Moroccan cooks have their own versions (some may use saffron instead of turmeric; others vary in their use of cayenne, cinnamon, eggs, flat leaf parsley, marrow bones, etc.). Most recipes do include rice or vermicelli, and typically the meat is not browned before it's put into the stew, but it's all a matter of taste. I've tried many versions and variations of this soup. This recipe was easy to prepare, and I think it's very good as it stands. The canned tomatoes work well during the winter when fresh ones are relatively tasteless.

dbrand
I did like this stew, however I felt a few things were lacking. For one, this recipe does not call for salt, so I think it would be better to salt the lamb cubes before adding them to the pot. Also, The recipe asks you to throw mostly everything in at once, I would suggest sauteing the onions first, then add seasoned lamb and brown, then follow the the remailing ingredients.(I also added three garlic cloves, I can't imagine eating lamb without garlic) I used olive oil instead of butter (lamb is fatty enough). In the future I think I will use lamb that still has the bone. I used boneless leg of lamb and both my husband and I were dissappointed that we could not taste much of the lamb in this "Lamb Stew" I do think that the bone would have imparted more flavor. I also omited the vermicelli since the soup has enough starch with the lentils and garbanzos. All in all I think it is a good recipe and I would make it again.

theAmateurPastryChef

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Mirj2338

Givat Ze'ev, 0

Come and visit me on my blog:  <a href=http://www.miriyummy.wordpress.com>www.miriyummy.wordpress.com</a>   October 2011: It's been 10 years since I came into Zaar one day at the recommendation of someone on another website. If you ask my husband (or my coworkers), I haven't logged out since! <a href=http://www.TickerFactory.com/> <img src=http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/4;15;0/st/20011021/e/I Joined Zaar%21/dt/6/k/f656/event.png border=0 alt= /></a> So what's happened in the ten years since I became addicted to Zaar? Well, I've been happily married, happily divorced, and happily married once again. (Wanna see wedding pictures? Click <a href=http://community.webshots.com/user/mirjamdorn>here</a>.) <a href=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/?action=view?t=chuppah2.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/chuppah2.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a> Originally from the Bronx, I've been living in Israel since 1983. I'm married to a brilliant man with the most yummy British accent (this is the part where he rolls his eyes and says, Yeah, yeah, yeah). Let's call him Sushiman, even though he hates that name. <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/member/52282>Chia</a> gave him that nickname when I was trying to create a dinner to show off my culinary talents. I posted here on Zaar with questions about the menu and since sushi was the main focus of the meal, he became Sushiman. That dinner was just the first of what I hope will become a lifetime of meals together. This is a picture of us taken in September 2005 in Kew Gardens in London. It my favorite picture of the two of us. <a href=http://photobucket.com/ target=_blank><img src=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/Kew.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting /></a> This comes in as a close second, taken March 2009: <a href=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/?action=view?t=Wedding6.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/Wedding6.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a> I have 4 of the most gorgeous daughters in the known universe (tfu, tfu, tfu, that's me spitting three times to ward off the Evil Eye). Sushiman has 4 kids of his own, so together that makes us a family of ten, together with my dog and my step-dog (sadly, since I first wrote this my step-dog, Honey, crossed the Rainbow Bridge). We're the Brady Bunch on speed. Not all eight live with us, but everyone is in and out all of the time, so we're thinking about replacing our front door with one of those revolving thingies. If you need help figuring out the whole complicated mess, you can check out <a title=Miriyummy -- A Guide to the Perplexed href=http://miriyummy.wordpress.com/about/ target=_blank>Miriyummy, A Guide to the Perplexed</a>. Here are my four beauties -- from left to right: Adiya, Sara, Nomi and Tehila <a href=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/?action=view?t=111.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/111.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a> On March 18, 2009, my oldest, Sara, got married to Ariel. The wedding was a clash of cultures and traditions, and we had a blast! <a href=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/?action=view?t=171.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/171.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a> Over 500 people attended our little party... <a href=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/?action=view?t=237.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/237.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a> ... and Ariel was welcomed into our family in style! <a href=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/?action=view?t=225.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/225.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a> If you want to see the photo album from Sara and Ariel's wedding, just go <a href=http://family.webshots.com/album/571020179JBDlvf?vhost=family&vhost=family&action=refreshPhotos&albumID=571020179&security=JBDlvf>here</a>. We're just one big happy family, most of the time, really! <a href=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/?action=view?t=098.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/mirj/098.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a> Here on Recipezaar I am the host of the <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewforum.zsp?f=29>Kosher & Jewish Cooking forum</a>. Come on in, and let the Jewish Mothers of Zaar feed you senseless! I hope you enjoy my recipes. I have only posted recipes of food that I am willing to eat myself. Therefore, you won't find anything unkosher in my recipes. You won't find any stinky bleu cheese or goat's cheese either. You will find a lot of comfort food, I believe that comfort food is very important. Gay and Troy are always thanking us for making Recipezaar such a great place. I firmly believe that it's Gay and Troy themselves that deserve a multitude of thanks, from us! And I hope I live up to their expectations! Miscellaneous Stuff <a href=http://www.TickerFactory.com/> <img src=http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/4;10300;6/st/20050624/e/Since We Tied The Knot/dt/7/k/f6c1/event.png border=0 alt= /></a>  <a href=http://www.shinystat.com target=_top> <img src=http://www.shinystat.com/cgi-bin/shinystat.cgi?USER=Mirj border=0 alt=Free website counter /></a> What time is it in Ra'anana? <object width=300 height=25 data=http://www.clocklink.com/clocks/5001-red.swf?TimeZone=IST&Place=&DateFormat=DD-mm-YYYY& type=application/x-shockwave-flash> <param name=data value=http://www.clocklink.com/clocks/5001-red.swf?TimeZone=IST&Place=&DateFormat=DD-mm-YYYY& /> <param name=src value=http://www.clocklink.com/clocks/5001-red.swf?TimeZone=IST&Place=&DateFormat=DD-mm-YYYY& /> <param name=wmode value=transparent /> </object> <a href=http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/40180.html?bannertypeclick=miniWeather2> <img src=http://banners.wunderground.com/weathersticker/miniWeather2_both_cond/language/www/global/stations/40180.gif border=0 alt= /> </a>

View Full Profile