Chicken soup with chickpeas and curry

I have made this chicken, chickpea, and curry soup several times, especially when I needed a hearty meal that would last for two days. I usually soak the chickpeas overnight, and by the next day, they are ready to cook. I don’t always use black lemon because I don’t always have it at home, but lemon juice works very well. Each time, I also serve it with plain boiled basmati rice; otherwise, it feels like something is missing.

Total time: 2 hours (including 10 minutes of preparation and 1 hour and 30 minutes of actual cooking)
Servings: 6
Difficulty: medium

Ingredients

2-3 chicken thighs and 1 chicken breast (or a small whole chicken, deboned optionally)
300 g dried chickpeas (or a large can, but I recommend using dried chickpeas if you have the time)
1 large yellow onion
1 large carrot
1 dried black lemon (optional; if you don’t have it, use lemon juice to taste)
1 heaping teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste
A pinch of pepper (optional)
Water, enough to cover the ingredients, plus for topping up
Basmati rice, for serving (200 g uncooked for 4-6 people)
(optional) 1 tablespoon flour if you want a thicker broth – I don’t use it

Instructions

1. Wash the chickpeas in 2-3 waters and soak them in plenty of cold water overnight. The water volume should be 3-4 times larger than the chickpeas, as they will swell.
2. The next day, drain the chickpeas and put them in a large pot with enough water to cover them by 2-3 fingers. Add a little salt. Boil over medium heat, partially covered, for about an hour. Add hot water if it reduces too much. The chickpeas are done when they are almost cooked (about 70-80%).
3. In the meantime, clean the chicken. Cut the thighs in half at the joint and the breast into 3-4 pieces. I remove the skin. Rinse the meat well with cold water.
4. Place the chicken pieces in a large pot with cold water and a heaping teaspoon of salt. The water should cover the meat by 2-3 fingers. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Skim off any foam that forms at the beginning, if necessary.
5. Chop the onion into small cubes. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion over low heat for 5-7 minutes until it becomes translucent. It shouldn’t brown.
6. Add the sautéed onion and curry powder to the pot with the chicken. Stir well.
7. Slice the carrot into rounds and add it to the soup.
8. If you have black lemon, cut it in half (width-wise), remove the seeds (which are bitter), and add both halves to the pot. If you don’t have it, wait until the end to add acidity with lemon juice.
9. When the meat is half cooked, add the boiled chickpeas along with the liquid they cooked in (don’t add too much liquid, just enough to reach a pleasant level for the soup).
10. Continue boiling over medium heat, uncovered, until the chickpeas and chicken are well cooked (about another 20-30 minutes). The chickpeas should crush easily between your fingers.
11. Adjust the seasoning with salt, and if desired, add pepper.
12. If you want a thicker broth, dissolve 1 tablespoon of flour in half a cup of cold water and gradually pour it into the soup while stirring vigorously. Boil for another 5 minutes. I prefer a thinner soup, so I don’t add flour.
13. After you turn off the heat, remove the black lemon and squeeze it well over the soup to extract the juice inside, then discard the peels.
14. If you didn’t use black lemon, adjust the acidity with lemon juice to taste.
15. In the meantime, prepare the plain basmati rice by steaming or boiling it with a little salt.
16. Serve the soup hot in bowls, with basmati rice on the side. Sometimes I mix the soup directly over the rice; other times, I prefer to keep them separate.

Why I make this recipe often

I come back to this soup because it’s filling, has a balanced taste, and keeps well from one day to the next. I can easily adapt it based on what I have in the fridge. The rice complements it and transforms it into a hearty main dish, not just a soup.

Tips and variations

Tips

If you use canned chickpeas, add them directly when the chicken is half cooked; there’s no need to boil them separately.
Skinless meat makes the soup lighter, but you can keep the skin for extra fat if you prefer.
Don’t let the carrot boil too long from the start, or it will break down completely.
Check and adjust the salt level after adding the chickpeas.

Substitutions

Dried chickpeas can be replaced with 2 large cans of cooked chickpeas, rinsed beforehand.
Black lemon can be replaced with the juice of 1 large lemon, added gradually at the end.
Chicken breast and thighs can be replaced with turkey meat if you prefer.
Basmati rice can be swapped for regular rice or noodles, to taste.

Variations

Add fresh parsley when serving for an extra touch of freshness.
If you like, you can add a clove of sautéed garlic along with the onion.
For a more aromatic soup, add 1-2 cloves or a bay leaf along with the meat.
Feel free to use other root vegetables instead of carrot, based on what you have in the fridge.

Serving ideas

The soup is served with the rice alongside, in separate bowls. Each person can take a spoonful of soup and place it on the side of the rice.
It also pairs very well with a simple salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion, dressed with olive oil and lemon.
You can sprinkle a little dried mint or fresh coriander on top if you like herbs.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use canned chickpeas?
Yes, just rinse them well and add them when the chicken is half cooked. There’s no need to boil them separately.

Can I use other parts of the chicken?
Any chicken meat works, but I prefer pieces with bones for flavor. You can use only thighs or only breast, depending on what you have.

Can it be made without black lemon?
Yes, just add freshly squeezed lemon juice at the end. The flavor will be slightly different but still good.

What kind of curry should I use?
Any quality curry mix. I use classic curry, not spicy, but a mildly hot version works too.

Can I freeze the soup?
Yes, it freezes well if you haven’t added the rice already. The rice can be frozen separately if you want.

Nutritional values (per serving, without rice)

Calories: approx. 260 kcal
Protein: 26 g
Carbohydrates: 16 g
Fat: 7 g
Fiber: 5 g

With rice, the values increase by an additional 150-180 kcal per 100 g of cooked rice.

Storage and reheating

The soup lasts 2-3 days in the refrigerator in well-sealed containers. When reheating, add a little water if it has thickened. Keep the rice separate in the fridge, and reheat it in the microwave or steam. If you’ve frozen the soup, thaw it slowly in the fridge overnight, then heat it over low heat.

1. The night before preparing the dish, rinse the chickpeas in several waters and soak them until the next day when we will prepare the soup. The volume of water and the bowl/pot should be about four times larger because they swell as they absorb water, tripling their volume. 2. The next day, we start by cooking the chickpeas. In a pot, bring 2-3 cups of water to a boil with a pinch of salt. 3. In the hot water, add the chickpeas drained from the soaking water. Add more hot water so that the water level is 2-3 fingers above the chickpeas. The heat should be moderately high, enough to keep it simmering gently. Cook them like beans. When it starts boiling, slightly lift the lid as they swell and may overflow. Initially, while frothing, you can even remove the lid for a while. As it cooks, add more hot water but not excessively, as it will mix with the chicken broth, and we don't want too much liquid. If the chickpeas are small and not too old, they cook relatively quickly, definitely not as long as beans. About an hour. They should be about 70% cooked when we combine them with the chicken broth. 4. Cut the chicken thighs in half at the joint, and the breast into four pieces. I remove the skin. Rinse well under cold running water. 5. In a larger pot, add a teaspoon of salt and the meat in cold water. The water should not be excessive, just above the meat by 3 fingers. Place it over moderate heat to boil, adding water as it evaporates. 6. Initially, skim the foam like any soup, but it's not mandatory. 7. Meanwhile, chop the onion into small cubes and sauté it in 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan over low heat until it becomes shiny but not burnt. Pour the sautéed onion into the soup along with 1 teaspoon of curry. Add the sliced carrot. 8. Cut the black lemon in half (not lengthwise), remove the bitter seeds, and add it to the soup. Submerge the light shells so they fill with soup and cook somewhat submerged. If you don't have black lemon, although it's desirable for its special and good taste, add lemon juice at the end after turning off the heat. 9. The meat cooks quickly, which is why the chickpeas are cooked separately beforehand. When the chickpeas are al dente (about 70-80%), pour them along with the liquid into the chicken soup. 10. At this point, the chicken should be only half-cooked, not fully. Continue cooking until the chickpeas are well penetrated. Take a chickpea between your fingers; it should crush easily while the skin remains between your fingers. With some types of chickpeas, the skins rise to the surface. You can either skim them off and discard them or eat them along with the soup; there's nothing wrong with that. 11. Adjust the salt. If you want the broth to be thickened, dissolve a heaping tablespoon of flour in a little cold water and towards the end, when the soup is almost ready, mix it in and boil for another 5 minutes to thicken a bit. A thick sauce is unpleasant; do not add too much flour. In fact, none at all. 12. After turning off the heat, fish out the lemon, squeeze it well for essence (over the soup) between two spoons, and discard it; otherwise, we will have all sorts of black fragments in the soup. It doesn't bother me, but it may bother others. 13. If you didn't use black lemon, sour to taste with regular lemon juice. Definitely, but not excessively. The dish with the broth cooked over low heat is tastier than that prepared over high heat. While the above ingredients are simmering together, prepare the basmati rice with noodles separately. Serve the rice and chicken soup with chickpeas in separate bowls. If you can't eat it that way, then in a wider deep plate, put a portion of rice as a side and the soup with meat and chickpeas. It is very, very tasty and reheats well the next day. Enjoy!

 Ingredients: 2-3 chicken thighs and one chicken breast (or whole chicken) 300g chickpeas 1 large yellow onion 1 carrot 1 large dehydrated black lemon (Basra lemon) - you can replace it with lemon juice but the taste will be different 1 teaspoon heaped curry (or to taste) salt to taste 2 tablespoons oil optional 1 pinch of ground pepper optional 1 tablespoon of flour (not used)

 Tags:  chicken soup