Harisa – Traditional Yemenite Wheat and Chicken Porridge

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Meat Browned in the Rice Pot

1. 1
   Soak the wheat overnight in water. Drain.

   ⚙ SoakingBowl

   💡Soak in plenty of water, well above what's being soaked: legumes and grains swell and drink water, and whatever sticks out stays hard. Drain well before continuing.
2. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveLarge pot
3. 3
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ 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.
4. 4
   Add the chicken and brown on all sides.

   Stove
5. 5
   Add the turmeric, cumin, ginger, salt and black pepper and stir.

   Stove

To assemble

1. 6
   Add the wheat and the water to the pot, bring to a boil and skim off the foam.

   Stove
2. 7
   Turn down to low, cover and simmer 2-2.5 hours, until the wheat softens completely.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
3. 8
   Take the chicken bones out of the pot and mash the mixture to a coarse porridge.

   Slotted spoon
4. 9
   Serve hot.

   Serving bowl