Best Harira in Marrakech — Morocco's Great Comfort Soup

Harira is a rich, tomato-based soup built on lentils and chickpeas, flavoured with onion, celery, coriander and parsley, warm spices like ginger, pepper and a little cinnamon, and often a small amount of meat or meat stock for depth. What gives it its signature velvety body is the tadouira — a flour-and-water (or fermented flour) thickening stirred in at the end — which turns it from a thin broth into something substantial and comforting. It is finished with fresh coriander and a squeeze of lemon.

In Marrakech, harira is everywhere. The soup stalls at Jemaa el-Fna ladle it out into bowls for a few dirhams, and medina soup counters and canteens serve it from morning to night. It is the classic dish to break the fast during Ramadan, when it is eaten at sunset with dates, hard-boiled eggs, chebakia (honey sweets) and sometimes sfenj doughnuts — a combination that appears across Morocco at iftar. But it is also everyday food, a cheap, filling meal in a bowl at any time of year, especially welcome on cool evenings.

The best harira is judged by its balance and body: rich but not heavy, well spiced but not harsh, thick enough to coat the spoon. Every household and stall has its own version, and Marrakchis are loyal to their favourites. It is traditionally eaten with bread and the sweet accompaniments rather than as a starter, and a bowl with dates and a pastry makes a complete, satisfying meal for very little money.

To eat it at its best, seek out a busy soup counter or a Jemaa el-Fna stall where the turnover is high and the harira is freshly made, order it with bread, dates and a honey sweet, and finish with a squeeze of lemon. It is one of the cheapest, most comforting and most authentically Moroccan things you can eat in Marrakech.