Halabissah
Halabissah – Chilli Beef and Chickpea Soup
Halabissah – one of Egypt’s favourite street foods
Halabissah is one of Egypt’s favourite street foods. It’s sold by street vendors at times of celebrations, such as Eid. It’s truly delicious, and makes your taste buds celebrate too.
So, what’s so special about Halabissah?
It’s made using a tasty beef stock; clear, un-thickened stock – you could use chicken or vegetable stock if you preferred. Its ingredients include chickpeas, along with raw diced tomato. This incredible delight is then brought to life with chilli and lemon juice.
This combination makes it so much more than just ‘soup’. It’s bursting with flavour and makes your taste buds dance the fandango. The stock is really tasty but it’s the citrus burst from the lemon and heat from the chilli that makes your eyes sparkle and your taste buds tingle.
Halabissah definitely stands out from the crowd
The other amazing thing that makes Halabissah stand out from the crowd is the unmistakeable way it’s served. What other soup is served in a tall glass with a straw? I can’t imagine where that idea came from, but the idea stuck and this is how it’s always served.
*It’s worth mentioning that this is one of the very few things served in Egypt which doesn’t have bread as an accompaniment.
Ingredients
- 2 pints beef stock – or you can use chicken or vegetable stock if you prefer
- 2 cloves garlic – crushed and chopped
- 3 tomatoes – peeled, de-seeded and finely chopped
- 2 cups of cooked chickpeas / 1 tin
- 1 red chilli sliced – finely into rings – seeds removed if you prefer less heat
- a good pinch of chilli flakes
- freshly ground black pepper to season
- juice of half a lemon
- lemon wedges and extra chilli sauce to serve
- Tall glasses and straws are required for an authentic presentation
serves 6
This is how you make halabissah
- Put the chickpeas, garlic, stock and a pinch of chilli flakes into a pan.
- Bring them to the boil and then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the chick peas to absorb the flavours and for the garlic to lose its harsh raw flavour.
Whilst the stock is heating through, prepare the tomatoes
- They need to be peeled, de-seeded and finely chopped.
- To do this, cut a cross in the bottom of the tomato and put them in a pan. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes to cover them. Wait 5 – 10 minutes then pour away the hot water and plunge them into cold water. This should make it easy for you to pull the tomato skins off – if the skin is still firmly fixed to the flesh simply repeat the process
- Next, cut the tomatoes into 4 and scrape out the seeds.
- Now, chop the remaining flesh finely.
Bringing it all together
- The stock should be ready now, so take it off the heat.
- Add the chopped tomatoes to the soup. The tomatoes don’t need to be cooked just warmed and the heat from the stock will do this.
- Adjust the seasoning with salt, freshly ground black pepper and chilli flakes to your taste. I’m told that the chilli should be just enough to make your lips tingle – but then this is a matter of taste.
How to serve your halabissah, your chilli beef and chickpea soup
- Now your halabissah is ready to serve. As I said you need tall, heat proof glasses – to be honest I just use regular tall glasses but I always allow it to cool down a little and put a long spoon in the glass when I pour in the hot liquid, as a precaution to guard against the glass cracking.
- Using a slotted spoon, put a few chick peas and a little chopped tomato in the bottom of each glass and then top up with the stock.
- Lemon slices are offered when serving to be squeezed over the top of your halabissah to add a citrus tingle.
- Additional chilli sauce (or shahta as it’s called) is offered for those who enjoy their snacks with an extra kick.
A big thank you
I must thank my lovely niece, Afaf, for this recipe. She is the one who regularly provides this wonderful snack by the gallon, for big family gatherings.
I do hope you’ll try this recipe. If nothing else, it will definitely be an ice-breaker and a conversation point when you have friends round, simply because of the way it’s served.
The fact that it tastes great will then just be an added bonus.
Let me know how it goes.