Simple Broad bean soup تشريب الباقلاء

Iraqi broad bean soup

This is a simple yet delicious traditional recipe that is often eaten in the fasting month of Ramadan.

These are not fava beans but broad beans and they're dried, they are large and flat, you may be able to find them at your local supermarket if you have a wide variety of legumes or try a middle eastern shop

Measure out desired amount of beans and soak the night before in a large bowl of water.

The following day place the beans and their water in a large pot and add more water over top.

Peel one or two large onions and throw them in whole then boil and simmer until they are tender. Salt it and simmer some more, at this point the onion may totally fall apart but thats ok.

If you have a pressure cooker this is a good place to use it, also if you salt beans too early sometimes they can become tough and not cook properly so I tend to salt once they become a bit tender.

You could add garlic in if you like but I like it very plain like that and then eaten with flat bread (even day old bread works because it will be torn into small pieces and placed in the soup, traditionally you place the bread in the bowl first and then pour the soup and beans over)

Add a wedge of lemon and enjoy!
** Usually because the peels of these beans are tough we don't eat them, so gently apply pressure to one side of the bean, either the top of bottom and the inside should come out easily to eat.

Here I made the bread myself because I did not have time to go to the store.

Here's my recipe for a tanoor style bread using an outdoor BBQ grill.

1 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp sugar

some water

proof for 10 minutes

Add 3/4 cups yogurt

1 tbsp oil

A dash of salt

3 cups flour and blend with hands until it comes together, it will be sticky but knead it with hands in a bowl until it is smooth.

Allow it to rise at least 2 hours.

Divide in smaller balls and place them on a tray lined with plastic wrap. Cover with another sheet of plastic wrap and let it rise until ready to use.

Heat bbq outdoor grill until it reaches above 500. Oil the grill, I have a cast iron so I clean and oil it every use.

Set a little bowl of flour close by and flour hands then pat the balls of bread one at a time into a flat shape, stretching and flattening

Place on the grill and flip over as soon as it is browned slightly on the bottom and bubbles formed on the top, it all happens very quickly.

Flip it over just until the puffy spots turn slightly brown and charred then remove it and place on a clean plate. Use a stick of butter to butter the top of each one.

Serve hot or set in the fridge or freezer for later use.

Garnish with fresh cilantro and a sprinkling of salt.

For the salt chop tomato and cucumber finely into small squares and season with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice, mix and enjoy with any arabic meal!