Harira: Moroccan chickpea & noodle soup
This unusual soup is a Middle Eastern classic. Some versions include lamb but this vegetarian version is full of health giving vegetables and zingy spices. Topped with dates for a delicious sweet contrast.
25g fresh mint, stalks removed.
2 eating apples, peeled, cored and cut into quarters
2 tablespoons peeled and grated ginger
½ teaspoon salt
2 green chillies, roughly chopped (optional)
1 tin coconut milk
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
12 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon turmeric
600g boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into thirds.
Place the mint, apples, ginger, chillies, salt and coconut milk in the food processor and blend until smooth.
Place the cumin, cardamom and garlic into a deep saucepan with the coconut oil and cook over a low-medium heat until the garlic starts to brown – this should take no longer than 1-2 minutes. Stir in the turmeric and cook for about 20 seconds.
Add the chicken and cook until sealed all over, stirring frequently – this should take no longer than 5 minutes.
Now slowly pour the coconut mixture in with the chicken, then bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for ten minutes, stirring regularly. Don’t overcook it or the sauce will lose its lovely bright green colour.
Tip
It’s easy to give each person’s curry a different level of spiciness. Instead of using chillies at the start, I remove 2 ladles of the sauce after cooking, and put them back in the blender (without any chicken.) I puree this with the chillies, to make a spicy version of the sauce. I stir some of this sauce into the curry on each person’s plate, but none into Lanie’s because she can’t stand the heat.
They say that korma is the curry for people who hate curries – it’s rich and sweet and delicious, but of course it’s loaded with fat. Try cooking this version, made with coconut and mint, and you’ll never look back.
The chicken korma we eat in restaurants tastes sweet and delicious because guess what? It’s full of sugar and cream. What this recipe uses instead is a smooth blend of apples, mint, ginger, coconut milk and chillies. As long as you’ve got a food processor to make the sauce, it’s easy, and has a fresh delicious taste.
My kids love this recipe, and my eleven-year-old can virtually cook it herself – it’s not hard. She gets me to grate the ginger, slice the onion and chop up the chicken – all the mucky jobs, basically.
If your family is addicted to curry house kormas, you might want to call this something else. Coconut chicken perhaps. They are not going to be fooled into thinking this is a korma like any other, but be warned – once you’ve tried this, restaurant kormas are going to taste sickly sweet.
Thanks to Gurpareet Baines for this recipe – click here to buy his wonderful cookbook, Indian Superfood. I serve this with boiled spinach and white rice, which soaks up all the lovely sauce.
This unusual soup is a Middle Eastern classic. Some versions include lamb but this vegetarian version is full of health giving vegetables and zingy spices. Topped with dates for a delicious sweet contrast.
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