Xarba Arbija is a very filling soup and it closely resembled the Lentil Soup. This Libyan soup had a liberal quantity of the five spice also called Hararat. This is a very classic Libya Five Spice blend that is used in many soup recipes.
When looking for a recipe to make for the alphabet X, my husband came up with this soup which is a classic Libyan Beef and Vegetable soup with lentils and chickpeas.
The name was very fascinating and above all the soup had a five-spice blend in it which made it very aromatic. I skipped the meat from the soup and added vegetable broth instead of meat stock to make the soup flavorful.
This was a very filling soup and it closely resembled the Lentil Soup that I had made earlier this month. Fall has begun for us and I am all set with few new soup recipes that are right up my alley.
The soup had a liberal quantity of the five spice also called Hararat. This is a very classic Libya Five Spice blend that is used in many soup recipes.
I found the recipe from here and when you get a chance, check out their vast collection of African recipes. I will be making a few in the coming days.
A-Z Marathon – Alphabet X
Category – International
Preparation time – 15 mins
Cooking time – 1 hr 20 mins
Difficulty level – easy
Ingredients to make Xarba Arbija – (Serves 6)
- Red lentils / masoor dal – ½ cup (washed and drained)
- Chick peas (cooked or canned) – 1 can (drained and rinsed) or about 200 gms cooked
- Vegetable broth – 500 ml or about 2 cups
- Water – 500 ml or about 2 cups
- Onion – 1 (finely chopped)
- Garlic – 2 cloves (minced)
- Carrot – 1 large (finely chopped)
- Potato – 1 large (skin removed and finely chopped)
- Tomato – 3 (chopped)
- Hararat – 2 tbsp (see below for recipe)
- Chili powder – ½ tsp
- Oil – 2 tsp
- Sugar – 1 tsp
- Salt – to taste
To make the Hararat or the Libyan Five spice blend –
- Red chilies – 2
- Coriander seeds – 4 tsp
- Cumin seeds – 4 tsp
- Cinnamon – 2 stick (broken into pieces)
- All spice - 1 tsp
Procedure to make Xarba Arbija –
To make the Hararat –
- Dry roast the red chilies, cinnamon, cumin, and coriander seeds until fragrant (about 2-3 mins). Once the spices are roasted add all spice and then give it one stir. Turn off the flame and let it cool down.
- Grind the roasted spices into fine powder using a spice blender and store in an airtight container for future use.
To make the libyan soup –
- Heat oil in deep pot and add the chopped onions and garlic. Saute until softened (for about 5 mins).
- Add the chopped vegetables and fry it for 5 more minutes.
- Now add the hararat spice, chili powder, salt, sugar and the tomatoes and mix well. Let it cook for about 5 mins more. Add the salt carefully since the broth will have some salt in it.
- Add the washed and drained lentils and mix it well. Add the vegetable stock and water.
- Bring it to a boil and then simmer for about 40 mins or until the lentils are cooked.
- Now add the cooked or canned chickpeas and let it cook for 15 more mins.
- Check for the consistency of the soup and add more water if it is too thick.
- Serve hot with lemon wedges on the side or with some crusty bread.
If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter
Xarba Arbija – A Libyan Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
- spatula
Ingredients
- ½ cup Red lentils/masoor dal Washed and drained
- 1 can Chickpeas Cooked or canned (drained and rinsed) or about 200 gms cooked
- 500 ml Vegetable broth About 2 cups
- 500 ml Water About 2 cups
- 1 Onion Finely chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic Minced
- 1 large Carrot Finely chopped
- 1 large Potato Skin removed and finely chopped
- 3 Tomato Chopped
- 2 tbsp. Hararat See below for recipe
- ½ tsp Chili powder
- 2 tsp Oil
- 1 tsp Sugar
- to taste Salt
TO MAKE THE HARARAT OR THE LIBYAN FIVE SPICE BLEND –
- 2 Red chilies
- 4 tsp Coriander seeds
- 4 tsp Cumin seeds
- 2 stick Cinnamon Broken into pieces
- 1 tsp All spice
Instructions
TO MAKE THE HARARAT –
- Dry roast the red chilies, cinnamon, cumin, and coriander seeds until fragrant (about 2-3 mins). Once the spices are roasted add the allspice and then give it one stir. Turn off the flame and let it cool down.
- Grind the roasted spices into a fine powder using a spice blender and store in an airtight container for future use.
TO MAKE THE SOUP –
- Heat oil in a deep pot and add the chopped onions and garlic. Saute until softened (for about 5 mins).
- Add the chopped vegetables and fry them for 5 more minutes.
- Now add the hararat spice, chili powder, salt, sugar, and the tomatoes and mix well. Let it cook for about 5 mins more. Add the salt carefully since the broth will have some salt in it.
- Add the washed and drained lentils and mix it well. Add the vegetable stock and water.
- Bring it to a boil and then simmer for about 40 mins or until the lentils are cooked.
- Now add the cooked or canned chickpeas and let it cook for 15 more mins.
- Check for the consistency of the soup and add more water if it is too thick.
- Serve hot with lemon wedges on the side or with some crusty bread.
Archana Potdar says
Looks delicious and flavourful. I will try this when its winter here(Winters heer are a laugh) but then rite now its too hot. I love the spice mix.
Pavani N says
I want to try this soup soon. That spice powder sounds sooooo flavorful.
The Pumpkin Farm says
indeed a flavorful soup, seems delicious
Chef Mireille says
what a flavorful soup to have on a cold winter night
Preeti Garg says
This soup come out so well and so healthy to.
Nivedhanams Sowmya says
delicious soup and very well written post!!
Sowmya
Sapana Behl says
That soup looks so delicious !
divya says
looks fabulous...
Srivalli says
Such a delicious soup..and so healthy I am sure..enjoyed reading it..
Manjula Bharath says
very very flavorful and very healthy soup 🙂 very flavorful spice powder wud have made the soup so very aromatic 🙂
vaishali sabnani says
Wow that is a lovely choice for the alphabet. ..the soup looks healthy and I particularly like the spice mix and the name Hararat...super one Sandhya.
Rajani S says
Loved your lenthil soup and this one is also great :-). Its great to see the X recipes!
Priya Suresh says
Xarba arbija looks very nutritious and comforting,love that spice mix.
Arjunan Akilandeswari says
Looks delicious