Lentil Soup (Harira) Recipe. All Variations

In a food processor, finely grind the onion, parsley, cilantro, and celery. Transfer the mixture to a heavy wide-bottom pot. Add the tomatoes, oil, salt, water, turmeric and lentils. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the flame to medium and cook covered for 1 hour, or a little longer, until the lentils are perfectly tender and the soup looks thick and creamy. Stir in the flour mixture, cumin, lemon juice and ground pepper, and cook just five more minutes. Adjust the texture and seasonings. Makes a dozen ample servings. Variations: - Buckwheat, bulgur, teff, steel-cut oat, or millet soup These grains take only a few minutes to cook. Proceed with the recipe just as above, substituting 2 cups of the suggested grain for the lentils, but with one change: Add them in the last 20 minutes of cooking. - Making the soup with meat. Harira made this way constitutes the whole meal, with good bread and salad. Cook 3 1/2 pounds chunks shoulder cut beef or lamb and a few meaty bones, in 4 quarts of water, in a large wide bottom pot, for 2 hours. Then proceed exactly as instructed above. The liquid in the pot is your liquid for the soup (meaning, no water as instructed in the ingredient list), and the meat will continue to cook, together with the soup ingredients.