Chorba


Chorba
Chorba is a spicy meat and vegetable soup, typical of the Maghreb. This is my own personal version.
159 K 4.5/5 (10 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
Keywords:
Last modified on: May 4th 2012
For this recipe: Comment Send to a friend Ask me a question Follow Printable Diaporama
For 6 people, you will need:

Change to the quantities for:
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 60 min.
Cooking: 1 hour 15 min.
All in all: 2 hours 8 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
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.
Chorba : Stage 1

Stage 2 - ⌛ 10 min.
Chorba : Stage 2
Prepare and grate 3 carrots.

Stage 3 - ⌛ 10 min.
Chorba : Stage 3
Peel and wash 2 turnips, then grate.

Stage 4 - ⌛ 15 min.
Chorba : Stage 4
Wash 300 g cauliflower and only keep the small florets.

Stage 5 - ⌛ 5 min.
Chorba : Stage 5
Cut 200 g chicken breast into small dice.

Stage 6 - ⌛ 3 min.
Chorba : Stage 6
Heat 5 tablespoons olive oil in a large pan and add the chopped onion and garlic clove, salt and pepper.

Cook without colouring.

Stage 7 - ⌛ 2 min.
Chorba : Stage 7
Add the carrots, turnip and cauliflower. Mix well.

Stage 8 - ⌛ 2 min.
Chorba : Stage 8
Add the chicken and 30 g spices for couscous*. Mix well.

(* see below).

Stage 9 - ⌛ 3 min.
Chorba : Stage 9
Cook like this (dry) for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Stage 10 - ⌛ 1 hour
Chorba : Stage 10
Pour in 1 litre 500 ml water, add 70 g tomato paste and mix well.

Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and leave to simmer uncovered for about an hour.

Stage 11 - ⌛ 3 min.
Chorba : Stage 11
After this, remove the garlic clove and discard, then add 150 g tinned (canned) chickpeas...

Stage 12 - ⌛ 5 min.
Chorba : Stage 12
...and 150 g vermicelli.

Leave to cook for a further 5 minutes (check the cooking time of the pasta on the paquet).

Check seasoning.

Stage 13
Chorba : 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.
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 recipe90 RDI=30 %250 RDI=20 %100 RDI=10 %2,200 RDI=110 %9,210 RDI: 110 %
Per 100 g2 RDI=1 %7 RDI=1 %2 RDI=0 %60 RDI=3 %270 RDI: 3 %
Per person10 RDI=6 %40 RDI=4 %20 RDI=2 %370 RDI=20 %1,540 RDI: 20 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman
Possible allergens in this recipe: Gluten, egg
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)
Other recipes you may also like
How to cook Morteau sausage well
How to cook Morteau sausage well
This is, in my opinion, the best smoked sausage. You can cook it in a number of ways, here are three of the best known.
November 15th 20182.80 M 23.4 40 min.
Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)
Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)
Quite similar to crème anglaise but much thicker. It is used in many pastries like choux pastry (pâte à choux) or millefeuille.
January 27th 2017778 K 313.8 40 min.
Marzipan (almond paste)
Marzipan (almond paste)
Very easy to do if you have a food processor which can slice or grate a lot of things.
December 19th 2021647 K 34.5 15 min.
How to succeed in making sabayon (syllabub)
How to succeed in making sabayon (syllabub)
A sabayon is a delicious and delicate preparation based on egg yolks and sugar, with a liquid added (wine, alcohol, fruit juice, etc), which is then whipped in a bain-marie until it is both light and smooth. Usually sabayon is sweet (syllabub), but you can make it savoury, in which case there is only egg yolk, salt, and the chosen liquid, which could be stock, reduced wine, roasting juices, etc... This recipe is for a...
November 12th 2017952 K 54 20 min.
French croissants
French croissants
In this famous and highly technical recipe from a piece of yeast-based flaky dough we are going to cut and shape ("roll") croissants.
June 26th 2019649 K 24.4 2 hours 35 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-11-09)

*Your e-mail Your first name or nickname
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing

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.
I am not a leaving thing
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.

Back to top of page