Shorwa (Afghan Lamb and Chickpea Soup)

About This Recipe

Shorwa (شوروا) is Afghanistan's most consumed dish — a simple, deeply nourishing lamb soup that appears on every Afghan table from breakfast in mountain villages to lunch in Kabul restaurants. It is built on the same principles as all great Afghan cooking: quality ingredients treated with patience. The lamb simmers for hours until the collagen melts, the chickpeas become soft and creamy, and the tomato-onion broth reduces into something intensely savoury and warming. The defining Afghan spicing — cumin, coriander, turmeric, a touch of cinnamon — is restrained and warm rather than fiery. Shorwa is always served with a piece of Afghan nan flatbread placed at the bottom of the bowl, so it swells with the broth.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 700 gbone-in lamb neck or shoulder
• 1 tin (400g)chickpeas(drained)
• 2tomatoes(diced)
• 1 tbsptomato paste
• 1onion(diced)
• 2carrots(diced)
• 2potatoes(diced 2cm)
• 3garlic cloves(minced)
• 1 tspturmeric
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tspground cumin
• 0.5 tspcinnamon
• 1.5 litreswater
• 2 tspsalt
• 2 tbspvegetable oil
• fresh cilantroto serve
• Afghan flatbread or naanto serve

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown lamb and onion

   Heat oil in a large pot. Brown lamb pieces on all sides 6 min. Add onion and garlic and fry 5 min until softened.

2. 2

   Add spices and tomatoes

   Add turmeric, coriander, cumin and cinnamon. Stir 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and water. Bring to a boil, skim foam.

3. 3

   Simmer long and slow

   Reduce to the lowest simmer. Cover and cook 75 min until lamb is very tender.

4. 4

   Add vegetables

   Add carrots, potato and chickpeas. Simmer 25 min until vegetables are fully cooked and the broth is rich.

   The long initial simmer of the lamb before adding vegetables ensures the broth is fully flavoured before the vegetables absorb it.

5. 5

   Serve

   Tear flatbread into the bottom of each bowl. Ladle hot shorwa over it. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Variations

• •

  Add spinach or kale in the last 5 min for a greener version

• •

  Mung bean shorwa: substitute chickpeas with mung beans for a lighter texture

• •

  Serve over rice instead of bread for a more formal presentation

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

Storage

Keeps 4 days refrigerated. Improves on day 2. Freezes very well.

Frequently Asked Questions