Haraa osbao – syrian lentil stew 🇸🇾

haraa osbao / حراق اصبعه ("he burnt his finger") is a traditional syrian dish made from a sweet, sour and savory lentil stew with noodles or dough, tamarind, cilantro, onion, and garlic, topped with different garnishes 🥰

recipe:
1 cup brown lentils, soaked for 30 min
3/4 cup tagliatelle, broken into 1/2-inch pieces*
8 cups water
1 large onion, halved and sliced, plus extra for fried onions
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped, reserving some for garnish
3 tbsp tamarind extract (a dark, syrupy concentrate)
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses (if unavailable, substitute with extra tamarind extract or lemon juice)
1 bouillon cube (or 1 tsp salt if you avoid yeast extract)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
olive oil

fried Levantine bread, fried dough ballz, fried onions, pomegranate seeds, cilantro (quickly sautéed in olive oil or not)

in a large pot, add the lentils and 4 cups of water. bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and cook for 20 minutes. add the noodles and 1 more cup of water, bring back to a boil, then cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently

meanwhile, in a pan over medium heat, sauté the onion, garlic, and cilantro on medium heat until golden and fragrant

dilute the tamarind extract in a small amount of water, then add it to the pot, along with the sautéed aromatics, pomegranate molasses, and the salt and spices. from this point, stir continuously over low heat as the stew thickens. add the remaining water in small amounts when the mixture gets too thick, until all the water is used. in about 15 minutes, the stew should reach a thick consistency—like a thick stew with no visible liquid, though still slightly loose from the noodles absorbing the sauce

serve in a large dish and add your favorite toppings
haraa osbao is not necessarily served hot; it’s often best after cooling for about half an hour

*: some recipes use small pieces of unleavened dough instead of noodles, if you want to do so, this would be equivalent to 250 g