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Halabessa is an Egyptian vegan, spicy, and cumin-spiked chickpea soup that will put your taste buds on fire.
What is Halabessa
Halabessa is thrifty, full-fledged Egyptian street food. On Cairo’s bustling streets during bone-chilling winters, vendors ladle this cumin-spiked chickpea soup into paper cups, served simply with half a lemon and a pinch of shatta—red pepper flakes. Beyond the street, Halabessa is a quiet staple of Coptic Yonan (Nineveh) Fasting, a deeply spiritual three-day fast observed before Great Lent, rooted in the biblical story of Prophet Yonan (Jonah). In our home, the food mirrors the spirit of the fast: modest, nourishing, and intentional. Made from humble pantry ingredients and entirely vegan, this soup sustains the body while the soul turns inward. It isn’t meant to impress, but to ground—to remind us that simplicity can be both sacred and deeply comforting.
In one of her riveting food articles, Ann Maloeny from the Washington Post wrote, “Our brains make a connection between warm feelings and actual physical warmth.” I can’t agree more!
Making Halabessa requires no advanced cooking skills, yet requires some planning.
Step 1
The chickpeas have to be soaked one night in advance for two reasons – one, they need to be softened before they boil, and two, pre-soaking helps to make the beans more digestible.
The second day when the chickpeas are all puffed, we drain the water and rinse the chickpeas with running tap water.
Making Halabessa requires no advanced cooking skills, but it does call for a bit of planning. The chickpeas need to be soaked overnight for two reasons: first, to soften them before cooking, and second, to make them easier to digest.
The next day, once the chickpeas are fully puffed, drain and rinse them well under running water. To make the chickpea broth- which is the base for this soup, place the chickpeas in a large pot, cover with fresh water, add a couple of bay leaves and a splash of cumin, and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. I personally like to add a celery rib for a subtle, refreshing flavor and to enhance the soup’s detoxifying feel.
Let the chickpeas cook with the aromatics until they are completely soft and fork-tender.
While the chickpeas are cooking, season the chopped vegetables—tomatoes, shishito pepper, onion, and garlic—with salt and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated 375°F oven for about 20 minutes, until fully wilted and beautifully charred. Transfer the vegetables to a food processor and blend until smooth.
We run the vegetable paste through a fine mesh sieve and incorporate it to the chickpea and chickpea broth and let the soup simmer for another 5 minutes until are flavors are incorporated. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve the chickpea soup in tall transparent glasses, season with lemon juice, and serve with extra lemon wedges and red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper.
For extra depth of flavor, we can alternatively roast the veggies with the spices and tomato paste in a preheated oven for 20 minutes, until they wilt and get charred. You can find this set-by-step recipe in this video. Blend the roasted vegetables
Scroll down to learn all the detailed steps and accurate ingredients of the recipe.
For More Chickpea Recipes Check:
More Plant-Based Vegan Recipes
- Ta’amia (Egyptian Falafel)
- Foul Medames (Egyptian Stew of Fava Beans)
- Spicy Egyptian Chickpeas Soup (Halabesa)
- Bissara (Vegan Egyptian Dip of Split Fava Beans)
- Authentic Egyptian Potato Bake (Saneyet Batates)
- Egyptian Koshari
- Koshari Iskandarani
- Shalawlaw
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Halabessa (Egyptian Spicy Chickpea Soup): حلبسة
Ingredients
- cups dry chickpeas
- 2 liters water
- 1 vegetable bouillon (or 1 tablespoon of vegeta), preferrably organic
- 1 medium tomato, quartered
- 3 whole garlic cloves
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
- 1 green chili pepper, preferable seeded (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 celery rib, coarsely chopped
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes or Aleppo pepper
- Salt & pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Soak the dry chickpeas in cold water overnight. The second day, drain, rinse, and set aside.
- Make the chickpea broth. Add 2 liters of water to a heavy bottom large pan on a medium-low heat, add the bouillon and stir until the bouillon is totally dissolved and then add the rinsed chickpeas and let it cook for 20-30 minutes until the chickpeas are fork tender. If a foam rises to the top of the broth, then remove it with a spoon or with a kitchen paper (as shows in the video).
- Season the chopped vegetables with salt and pepper, mix them with the tomato paste and arrange them on baking sheet or a heat resistant dish. Roast the vegetables In a preheated oven at 375 °F for 20 minutes or until the vegetables have softened and are beautifully charred.
- In a mini-food processor, blend all the roasted vegetable to a fine paste. Run through a fine mesh sieve if it has any lumps and then add to the simmering chickpea broth. and let it simmer another 5-10 minutes until the vegetable paste is totally incorporated into the broth.
- Serve the Halabessa hot in tall glasses with extra wedges of lemon or lime and dry pepper flakes or tabasco sauce.
Nermine's Notes
- This soup is best made from scratch with dry chickpeas and NOT the canned ones. Soaking the chickpeas in cold water overnight is a must, before boiling the chickpeas in the broth.
- You can possibly downplay the heat by removing the green chili from the ingredients.
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