Moroccan Vegetable Soup

After all the festivities… Navratri followed by Diwali, its time to avoid all the sweet stuff, the fired goodies and its time to get back to a normal, healthy diet. After the festivities and over indulgence ( I must admit I had quite a bit of chips with yogurt dip and fried wedges) our #FoodieMonday#Bloghop team decided that our #65theme should be #soups. I love soups, not so much the ready made ones but  the home made ones.

Soups can be smooth and creamy, light and a bit watery or wholesome. I decided to prepare a wholesome soup, full of vegetables and lentils and with a hint of spiciness. You can literally make wholesome soups your meal. Just add the veggies, proteins and serve with some bread and hey presto you have a balanced meal.

Moroccan soups are usually made with meat and veggies. They are served during the month of Ramadan to break the fast and during the rest of the year served as a starter or as a light meal. Basic Moroccan or Harira soup may have a bit of flour, lentils, chickpeas, onions, rice, eggs, herbs, spices, meat and olive oil. The variations from these basic ingredients are numberless.

I put together whatever vegetables I had and added lentils and chickpeas to make a healthy, tasty and filling soup. Go on use your imagination and make your own Moroccan (Harira) soup or just follow the recipe below.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into round slices
½ cup lentils (puy)
½ cup cooked white chickpeas
1 small coloured sweet pepper, diced
1 tomato finely chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup fresh tomato puree*
1 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander or parsley
4 cups water or stock
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp extra olive oil to drizzle on top (optional)

Spice blend:
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp paprika powder
½ tsp ginger powder
½ tsp ground pepper
½ tsp cinnamon powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp red chilli powder

1. First of all mix the spices and keep it on the side till required.
2. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
3. Add onion and stir fry for a minute or so.
4. Add garlic, sweet pepper, carrot, mushrooms and lentils.
5. Stir fry for a minute.
6. Lower the heat and cover the pan.
7. Let the vegetables cook for 2-3 minutes.
8. Add water or stock. Cover the pan and let the mixture cook till the lentils are done. This takes about 10-15 minutes.
9. Add salt, chickpeas, chopped tomato, tomato puree and the spice blend.
10. Mix well and let the soup simmer over low heat for 2-3 minutes.
11. Add lemon juice and mix well.
12. Garnish with chopped coriander, drizzle some olive oil over it and serve.