Chorba
Chorba is a spicy meat and vegetable soup, typical of the Maghreb. This is my own personal version.
151 K 4.5/5 (10 reviews)
2 hours 8 min.
Easy
6 people
16 IngredientsLast modified on: May 4th 2012
For 6 people, you will need:
- 1
1 onion - 2
2 cloves garlic - 3
3 carrots - 4
2 turnips - 5
300 g cauliflower - 6
200 g chicken breast - 7
5 tablespoons olive oil - 8
30 g spices for couscous - 9
70 g tomato paste - 10
1 litre 500 ml water - 11
150 g tinned (canned) chickpeas - 12
150 g vermicelli - 13
fresh coriander (cilantro) - 14
1 lemon - 15
salt - 16
pepper - Total weight: 3,470 grams
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 60 min.
Cooking: 1 hour 15 min.
All in all: 2 hours 8 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 10 min.
Stage 3 - 10 min.
Peel and wash 2 turnips, then grate.
Stage 4 - 15 min.
Wash 300 g cauliflower and only keep the small florets.
Stage 5 - 5 min.
Cut 200 g chicken breast into small dice.
Stage 6 - 3 min.
Heat 5 tablespoons olive oil in a large pan and add the chopped onion and garlic clove, salt and pepper.
Cook without colouring.
Cook without colouring.
Stage 7 - 2 min.
Add the carrots, turnip and cauliflower. Mix well.
Stage 8 - 2 min.
Stage 9 - 3 min.
Cook like this (dry) for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Stage 10 - 1 hour
Stage 11 - 3 min.
After this, remove the garlic clove and discard, then add 150 g tinned (canned) chickpeas...
Stage 12 - 5 min.
...and 150 g vermicelli.
Leave to cook for a further 5 minutes (check the cooking time of the pasta on the paquet).
Check seasoning.
Leave to cook for a further 5 minutes (check the cooking time of the pasta on the paquet).
Check seasoning.
Stage 13
Serve piping hot with a generous squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of chopped fresh coriander.
Remarks
As with any "regional" recipe, please remember that this is only ONE chorba recipe and not THE chorba recipe.
The proportions are for guidance, so do vary them to your own taste.
The diced chicken can be either raw or cooked (as in the photos) and this is a good way to use up leftovers.
If you can't find a ready-made mix of couscous spices, you can make your own from: cumin, coriander (ground), cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom and turmeric. Paprika, cloves and caraway are also sometimes used.
The proportions are for guidance, so do vary them to your own taste.
The diced chicken can be either raw or cooked (as in the photos) and this is a good way to use up leftovers.
If you can't find a ready-made mix of couscous spices, you can make your own from: cumin, coriander (ground), cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom and turmeric. Paprika, cloves and caraway are also sometimes used.
And to drink?
An Algerian red wine, one from the Medea region, for example, or any other full-bodied red.
Keeping: A few days in the fridge in a covered container.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 90 RDI=30 % | 250 RDI=20 % | 100 RDI=10 % | 2,200 RDI=110 % | 9,210 RDI: 110 % |
| Per 100 g | 2 RDI=1 % | 7 RDI=1 % | 2 RDI=0 % | 60 RDI=3 % | 270 RDI: 3 % |
| Per person | 10 RDI=6 % | 40 RDI=4 % | 20 RDI=2 % | 370 RDI=20 % | 1,540 RDI: 20 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 6 people : 8.70 €
- Per person : 1.45 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Water
Like these other recipes: Chocolate Chantilly , How to rehydrate dried mushrooms, New leavened bread, Sushi, Mint and chocolate cream, ... See them all 136
Cauliflower
Like these other recipes: The strange gratin, Creamy cauliflower with smoked salmon, Spicy mustard cauliflower cheese, Paella, Roasted vegetables with thyme and green sauce, ... See them all 49
Chicken breast
Like these other recipes: Paella, Chinese style chicken, Baker's chicken and potato tart, Stuffed pumpkin gratin, Chicken breasts in a potato crust, ... See them all 29
Tinned (canned) chickpeas
Like these other recipes: Lambé salad, Couscous, Cauliflower and chickpea purée, Lebanese-style chickpea salad, Green hummus, ... See them all 10
Other recipes you may also like
Little Christmas biscuits
These little chocolate biscuits are decorated with marzipan. They are ideal to accompany a festive dessert.December 23th 201295 K 24.2 2 hours 45 min.
Mexican-style pork medallions
For this recipe with a Mexican flavour (New Mexican, actually), I have used tender medallions of pork fillet mignon. These are first marinated in a spicy oil then pan-fried with the remaining marinade. Serve with green beans and sauce made with a reduced vegetable stock in the frying pan.August 11th 202378 K5 30 min.
French onion soup
This warming onion soup is an emblematic French dish, both in bistro cuisine and home cooking. This is a very classic version. The long, slow cooking is the secret to revealing its full flavour.December 30th 201972 K 23.8 2 hours 30 min.
Chocolate tart
As you can see, there's very little added sugar in this recipe, so it's a very chocolatey and bitter-sweet tart.November 16th 2013297 K 15 2 hours 30 min.
Exotic fruit tart
An exotic fruit tart (bananas, kiwi and pineapple), with crisp pastry and almond cream which are cooked beforehand. It's a rather simple recipe, but the final result will impress your guests.May 27th 2020326 K5 2 hours 25 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-07-20)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.