Shorba – Traditional Iraqi Lamb Soup

👨‍🍳 Method

1. 1
   Heat the oil in a large pot and brown the meat in it on all sides.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveLarge pot

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
2. 2
   Add the onion and garlic and fry 10–15 minutes.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the carrot, tomatoes, tomato paste, cumin, turmeric, salt and black pepper and the water to the pot.
4. 4
   Bring to a boil and skim off the foam. Turn down to low and simmer 45 minutes, until the meat is tender.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡Skim off the foam that rises at the boil, and after that only a gentle simmer: a hard boil clouds the soup and toughens the meat.

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 5
   Add the potatoes and cook another 20 minutes, until the potatoes is tender.

   Stove
6. 6
   Serve hot in deep bowls with the parsley.
7. 7
   Eat with pita bread for dipping.