AI-generated image
Sudanese shorba (lamb and peanut Ramadan soup)
Shorba: a lamb and vegetable broth thickened with peanut butter, the first spoonful of the Ramadan meal
Every evening during Ramadan, Khartoum tables are set with dates, juices and a big pot of shorba, a lamb broth full of carrots, potato and onion made creamy with peanut butter and sharpened with lime. It is the first thing many families eat after the dates, warm and gentle on an empty stomach, and it is made in quantity to share with neighbours. The soup is savoury, nutty and lightly spiced, thick enough to coat a spoon. Adding peanut butter straight into the pot is a mistake, as it clumps; whisk it smooth with hot broth first. Chef's tip: skim the broth carefully in the first 10 minutes for a clean taste, and finish with lime just before serving.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ lb lamb neck or shoulderon the bone, cut into pieces
- 8 ¼ cups water
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- 3 cardamom podslightly crushed
- 2 carrotsdiced
- 1 potatodiced
- 1 tomatograted
- 3 tbsp smooth peanut butterunsweetened
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 limejuiced, plus wedges
- ⅓ oz fresh coriander (optional)chopped
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put the 1 ⅓ lb lamb neck or shoulder and 8 ¼ cups water in a large pot and bring slowly to the boil. Skim off the foam for 10 minutes until the surface is clear.
10 minStep 2: Add the 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic, 3 cardamom pods and 1 cinnamon stick, cover and simmer gently for 45 minutes until the lamb is tender.
45 minStep 3: Lift out the lamb, pull the meat from the bones in small pieces and return it to the pot; discard the bones, cinnamon and cardamom pods.
Step 5: Whisk the 3 tbsp smooth peanut butter with a ladle of hot broth in a bowl until smooth, then stir into the soup with the 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp ground black pepper. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring, until slightly thickened.
5 minStep 6: Stir in the 1 lime juice, scatter with ⅓ oz fresh coriander and serve hot with lime wedges.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 280 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 12 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sudanese shorba (lamb and peanut Ramadan soup) take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 75 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian
BabboucheSpiced snail broth
After dark in Marrakech's great square, the babbouche stalls are recognisable by their steaming cauldrons and the toothpicks laid out by every bowl. Small land snails simmer in a dark broth of liquorice root, aniseed, thyme, caraway, bitter orange peel, chilli and a bundle of herbs that sellers say has fifteen ingredients, believed to soothe the stomach and warm you on a cold night. You pick the snails out with a toothpick, then drink the peppery, herbal, faintly sweet broth. At home, buy live snails sold for cooking, already purged by a reputable seller, discard any with broken shells or that do not move or retract when touched, and cook them through for at least 45 minutes. Chef's tip: keep the spices in a muslin bag; the broth stays clear and you avoid crunching on seeds.
Moroccan