Moghrabieh is a traditional Palestinian dish that is high in protein and packed with flavour. The spiced chicken broth and Mediterranean couscous is pure comfort food!
I first tried this dish after I got married. My mother in law makes this dish in large amounts when she’s serving a crowd and actually makes the couscous (Maftool) by hand! It’s really impressive. In this recipe, I simply used boxed couscous and the turn out is amazing.
To really get the full effect of this meal, I like to soak dried chickpeas overnight then boil them in the morning. I simply add chickpeas to a bowl with 1/2 tsp of baking soda then cover with water. I allow it to sit on the counter overnight (or a minimum of 8 hours) then rinse the chickpeas really well in the morning. The water the chickpeas boil in is used in the soup and gives it such an amazing taste that holds all the health benefits as well!
If you don’t have dried chickpeas, simply use a can of chickpeas and boil until tender. I usually get moghrabieh spice from my local ethnic store but if you can’t find it, simply replace it with caraway & 7 spices.
WHAT IS MOGHRABIEH?
Moghrabieh is a soup that is made up of spiced chicken broth, chicken, chickpeas and onions that is served with Mediterranean couscous
HOW DO I MAKE IT?
I like to start out by soaking dried chickpeas the night before. Rinse them well in the morning then boil them until tender. At the same time the chickpeas boil, I boil the chicken with spices. Once the chicken is ready, remove from the water and shred. The chickpea broth and chicken broth are then used for the base of the soup. Sliced onions are sautéed in a pot then both broths are poured on top of the onions. Shredded chicken and chickpeas go into the soup with more spices with a squeeze of fresh lemon. The soup is then served with the couscous. So delicious!
Ingredients
For the chickpeas:
3 cups chickpeas
2 tsp salt
10 cups water
For the chicken:
3 chicken breast
1 tsp moghrabieh spices
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 tsp white vinegar
10 cups water
For the soup:
2 onions
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp moghrabieh spices
6 cups reserved chicken broth
3 cups reserved chickpea broth
Boiled chicken
Boiled chickpeas
½ lemon
Instructions
Soak chickpeas in water overnight with 1 tsp baking soda. Drain and rinse well.
In a large pot, add chickpeas, salt and water.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 40 minutes.
Remove chickpeas from the pot and reserve broth.
In a separate pot, add chicken, moghrabieh spice, bouillon cube, vinegar and water.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Remove chicken from the pot, shred and reserve broth.
In a large pot, melt butter then add onions.
Saute for 5-7 minutes then add chicken broth and chickpea broth. Add salt, cumin, moghrabieh spices and bring to a boil.
Simmer for 15 minutes.
Add shredded chicken and chickpeas to the pot and boil for another 15 minutes.
Squeeze ½ lemon and mix through.
Serve with couscous and enjoy!
For the couscous:
Melt 2 tbsp butter in a medium size pot. Add 2 cups of couscous and cook for 2 minutes. Add 3 cups of water or chicken broth. Cook for 10-12 minutes. Cover and remove from heat. Allow to steam for 15 minutes.
Notes
1 cup dried chickpeas will yield roughly 3 cups chickpeas. If you can't find moghrabieh spices, simply replace with equal amounts of caraway and 7 spices.