Maraq Digaag (Spiced Chicken Soup)
Updated April 1, 2024
- Total Time
- About 1 hour
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 50 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1½tablespoons olive oil
- 1medium white onion, diced into ½-inch pieces
- 1½pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ½lemon, juiced
- 2teaspoons fine sea salt
- 3medium tomatoes, diced
- 4teaspoons xawaash (see Tip)
- 4 to 5garlic cloves, minced
- 1handful cilantro, rinsed and roughly chopped
- 1medium carrot, diced into ½-inch pieces
- 1small jalapeño, stemmed and cut in half
- 1medium russet potato, peeled and diced into ½-inch pieces
- Muufo or noodles (both optional), for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
In a large pot over medium heat, warm up the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and slightly golden, 6 to 7 minutes.
- Step 2
Meanwhile in a medium bowl, combine the chicken thighs, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt.
- Step 3
Once onions have softened, stir in the tomatoes and cover. Cook tomatoes until they have softened and broken down, 5 to 6 minutes. Move the tomatoes to the sides and make space in the middle of the pot, turn the heat to medium-high and add in the chicken, cooking 2 minutes per side.
- Step 4
Once the chicken has cooked through, turn the heat down to medium-low, add in the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, the xawaash, garlic, cilantro, carrot, jalapeño halves and 3 cups of water. Cover and cook for 13 minutes, mixing occasionally.
- Step 5
Add the potatoes, cover and cook until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. You can keep the chicken thighs whole or break them down into smaller chunks with a spoon.
- Step 6
Serve the maraq on its own, with bread, or with the noodle of your choice mixed in.
- To prepare your own xawaash blend, add 8 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom to a small nonstick pan. Toast over low heat, stirring continuously, for 1 minute or until the spice mix becomes fragrant, then stir in 1 teaspoon ground turmeric. Makes 4 tablespoons.
Private Notes
Comments
This was delish and the recipe is a keeper. I added a few shakes of cayenne to add a little heat. The broth was really good. I think this dish is company worthy!
I made the recipe as suggested without pasta. We dipped leftover naan instead. Delicious, didn't taste bland at all (although based on the previous comment, I slightly upped every single spice and salt, maybe 1.25 x what was suggested)
Just cooked. We made spice the blend ourselves and added orzo pasta to the soup. While it’s tasty it’s blander than we were expecting. Wondering if it will be stronger tomorrow.
This was delicious! I used chicken bone broth instead of water for extra flavor and nutrients… this is definitely a new favorite!
This recipe is incredibly good. I chose to add a bit more lemon and use homemade chicken broth. And I ended up adding some sliced okra to part of the batch, just to see what it was like. It is very good with okra. This recipe is a real winner.
This recipe is incredibly good. I chose