Maraq Digaag (Spiced Chicken Soup)
Updated April 2, 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!
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.
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)
This was an amazing soup! I made as directed along with the xawaash. It will burn a cold right out of you. Delicious.
layers of xawaash are amazing. it was better the next day.
This soup was incredible, maybe one of the best soups I’ve ever made. I followed the recipe to the letter except I used homemade chicken stock instead of water and accordingly cut back the salt by a half teaspoon. To those saying it’s bland or not spicy enough, this is meant to be more of a warming dish than a knock-you-out spicy soup. Of course spice mixes and palates vary but I’d really suggest making it first as directed and trying to appreciate the rich flavour. Btw since some are asking, I kept the seeds in the jalapeño.