Chorba
Chorba is a spicy meat and vegetable soup, typical of the Maghreb. This is my own personal version.
150 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: Cassoulet, Stewed plums, Toffee apple upside-down cake, Caramel semolina pudding with raisins, Ciabatta, ... See them all 136
Cauliflower
Like these other recipes: Vegetable tartare, Creamy cauliflower with smoked salmon, Winter cauliflower tabbouleh, Cauliflower and egg salad, Creamy risotto with vegetables , ... See them all 49
Chicken breast
Like these other recipes: Paté en croute (terrine in a pie crust), Chinese Soup, Couscous, Stuffed pumpkin gratin, Taos hotpot, ... See them all 29
Tinned (canned) chickpeas
Like these other recipes: Green hummus, Cauliflower and chickpea purée, Mixed vegetable curry, Cauliflower and chickpea salad, Couscous, ... See them all 10
Other recipes you may also like
Clarified butter
This is a way of melting butter to eliminate all the impurities. The clarified butter can then be heated without spoiling, and is more digestible. It is ideal for cooking at high temperatures where small black specks would spoil the appearance, or for emulsified sauces like béarnaise or mousseline.June 21th 2017468 K4.2 2 hours 15 min.
Scrambled eggs (Oeufs brouillés)
French-style scrambled eggs are rather special. It's not very difficult, just a bit long because it's cooked slowly in a bain-marie. Eventually you will get a delicious, refined and delicate preparation which can be eaten "as it is" or added to another recipe.February 21th 2011273 K5 30 min.
Quiche Bretonne
This quiche from Brittany has a puff-pastry base topped with an assortment of fish and shellfish with a classic quiche filling. After baking in a hot oven, the crusty pastry is a great foil for the moist filling with all its seafood flavours.April 17th 202266 K 1 hour 40 min.
Madras rice
Slices of sautéed aubergine and the lovely yellow colour from the curry spices bring a hint of India to this rice dish, given a twist with a little fried ham.December 16th 201883 K 30 min.
Caramelised apple pie
Apple pie made with caramelised apples.September 11th 2018262 K4.3 1 hour 55 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-06-29)
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.