Textual Chef Textual Chef

Chorba Mchawsha

A rich Algerian soup filled with tender meatballs, chickpeas, and fine pasta simmered in a warm aromatic tomato broth. Fresh cilantro and mint add a lively touch to every bowl.

45 minMediumServes 4380 cal/serving

North AfricanSoupStovetopStandardHigh FiberHigh ProteinDairy-FreeNut-FreeEgg-FreeSoy-FreeShellfish-FreeSesame-FreeAlcohol-FreeCorn-Free

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 yellow onion, finely grated
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 can canned chickpeas, drained
  • 0.5 cup vermicelli pasta, broken
  • 6 cups beef broth
  • 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • 0.5 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. 1

    Combine 1 lb ground beef, half of the 1 finely grated yellow onion, 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon, and half of the 1 tsp salt in a bowl, then roll into small bite-sized meatballs.

  2. 2

    Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pot over medium heat, then sauté remaining 1 finely grated yellow onion and 4 minced garlic cloves for 3 minutes until softened.

  3. 3

    Stir in 3 tbsp tomato paste and 1 tsp sweet paprika, cooking for 1 minute until fragrant.

  4. 4

    Pour in 6 cups beef broth, 1 can drained canned chickpeas, and remaining 1 tsp salt, then bring the broth to a gentle simmer.

  5. 5

    Drop the meatballs into the broth and cook for 8 minutes until meatballs reach an internal temperature of 160°F.

  6. 6

    Add 0.5 cup broken vermicelli pasta and simmer for 5 minutes until pasta is tender.

  7. 7

    Stir in 0.5 cup chopped fresh cilantro and 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint before serving hot.

Questions

Can I make Chorba Mchawsha gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in this entry is 0.5 cup vermicelli pasta, broken. Swap the pasta for a gluten-free one, cooked a minute short of its package time. Everything else proceeds as written.

How long does Chorba Mchawsha keep?

Refrigerate it up to four days, or freeze it in portions for up to three months. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water or stock to loosen it.

Can I halve or double Chorba Mchawsha?

Yes. As written it serves 4. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. When doubling on the stovetop, use your widest pan or work in two batches so the food sears instead of steaming.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is a plain-text cooking reference of 3,876 recipes, free to read and cook from, with no account and no paywall. In the app, this entry scales itself: half, standard, or double batch, every quantity recomputed inside the step that uses it. No ads, no life stories, no photos of somebody else's dinner.

The entries are curated and public-domain sourced, written to a fixed template and checked against it: tested quantities, one closed vocabulary of methods, and precomputed half and double batches on every line. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser, instantly. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually, and the first 30 days are free.