Barley semolina soup or Tchicha soup ( French โ Soupe a la semoule dโorgeโ) is an economic, healthy soup. Itโs one of the soups prepared during the holy month of Ramadan in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. It can be eaten all year long obviously but preferably in cold weather. Itโs a great soup to fight the cold in my opinion.
It can be prepared with red meat, poultry and seafood. I made my soup vegetarian as there are days I canโt stand to look at meat ( red or white). I just think that my stomach needs a break from animal proteins.
Tchicha soup has different names depends of the region. It is also called Tchicha Mermez, Hโssoua, Belboula soup, Harira Tchicha ( or Hrira Tchicha), Harira Belboula ( or Hrira Belboula).
Recipes differ from one country to another and from one region to another and this is my simple recipe.
๐ฉ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฆ๐น๐ณ Vegetarian Barley Semolina Soup – Vegetarian Tchicha Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup Tchicha ( barley semolina)
- 1 small onion, finely minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium zucchini
- 2 medium carrots
- 3 celery stalks
- 1 medium tomato, grated
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp ginger powder
- 1/4 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
Instructions
-
Put olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
-
add onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini, celery stalks, tomato paste, salt, pepper, ginger, turmeric, coriander powder, dried parsley and paprika.
-
Let cook on medium low for about 10 minutes.
-
Add the grated tomato and let cook for 5 more minutes.
-
Cover the vegetables with boiled water and let cook on medium temperature for about 20 to 30 minutes.
-
Soak the Tchicha in water while the soup is cooking. Once the vegetables in the soup are cooked, rinse the Tchicha well until its water is clear. Set aside.
-
Take out the celery stalks from the sauce and discard it.
-
Take out the carrots and zucchini then purรฉe them in a food processor.
-
Pour the vegetable purรฉe in the sauce.
-
Add the Tchicha and let it cook on medium low heat for about 30 minutes or until It is tender.
-
Stir the soup from time to time so that Tchicha wonโt stick to the bottom of the pan.
-
Adjust the seasoning and add salt if needed. You may need to add boiled water too.
-
Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
- After adding Tchicha or barley semolina to the soup, the soup will thicken as it cooks, add water and seasoning to have your desired thicknessย
- To reheat the soup the next day, you may need to add water and seasoning as Tchicha will absorb all the liquid.
- If you like your soup spicy, add any hot pepper you like, to cook with the other vegetables.
- You can obviously use fresh parsley in this soup.