Moroccan Harira a Favourite in Algeria

Ingredients

• water
• lemon, juice of
• plain flour
• lamb
• carrot
• potato
• courgette
• fresh tomatoes
• coriander
• fennel bulbs
• celery seed
• onion
• garlic cloves
• chickpeas
• green lentils
• oil
• ras el hanout spice mix
• salt and pepper

Preparation

1. 1in a medium sized bowl , pour 1 cup of water , the lemon juice and the flour
2. 2set aside
3. 3also put 1 garlic clove and 1 / 4 of the corriander to one side until the end of cooking
4. 4take a heavy bottomed pan or pressure cooker and place the meat , add the vegetables and remaining corriander roughly chopped
5. 5fry those ingredients with a little oil , 1 tsp of ras el hanout for a couple of minutes then pour on the water and leave to simmer , covered for 1 and a 1 / 2 hours or around 45 minutes in a pressure cooker
6. 6add salt & pepper to taste
7. 7remove the meat and set aside
8. 8remove any traces of bones , gristle etc
9. 9liquidise the remaining vegetables and push through sieve when finished , take another cup of freshly boiled water and pour over sieve to get any last traces !
10. 10put everything back in the pan and on low heat you may wish to add a little more water or stock at this stage
11. 11when the harira reaches the boil , lower heat a little & add the flour mixture prepared in step 1
12. 12add a few tbsp of the harira to the flour mix first
13. 13remember to add gradually and stir continuously to avoid lumps
14. 14turn heat to low and finely chopped coriander , final garlic clove minced & 2 tsp of ras el hanout
15. 15allow the harira to heat through again so garlic is not raw
16. 16sprinkle more coriander on top if desired and serve with fresh bread