By: Chef Marzia Shamsi

Ingredients

• 1kg Chicken or Veal (small cubes)
• 1 cup  canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 cup  canned kidney beans
• 1 cup brown lentils
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided, or as needed
• 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon dried mint
• 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, or to taste, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 6 cups chicken/Vegetable stock
• 3 cups packed chopped fresh parsley
• 2 cups packed chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cups packed chopped fresh mint
• 2 cups packed chopped fresh Fenugreek leaves
• 3 bunches scallions, chopped (green parts only)
• 1tblsp of Cumin Seeds
• ½ pound linguine pasta
• 1 pound fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1 cup Greek yogurt

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; stir in red onion & Cumin seeds. Cook and stir until onion has turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low; continue cooking and stirring until onion is tender and golden brown, about 40 minutes more. Stir in dried mint; cook until onions become dark brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Set aside for garnish.
2. Heat remaining olive oil in a stock pot; stir in yellow onions. Cook and stir until onion has turned translucent. Add chicken fry meat until fully seared for about 5 minutes to 10 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in chickpeas, kidney beans, and turmeric; toss to combine. Stir in vegetable stock; simmer soup for 1 hour.
3. Stir parsley, fenugreek, cilantro, mint, scallions, and lentils into soup; simmer 30 minutes more. Break linguine into 3 sections, stir into soup, and cook at a low boil until noodles are soft, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Stir 1/2 of the spinach to the soup until wilted, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining spinach and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Stir flour with 3 tablespoons of the soup liquid together in a small bowl until smooth. Stir flour mixture back into soup. Continue to simmer soup over low heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 30 minutes.
6. Serve soup with yogurt and fried red onions.

About the Author:

Marzia Shamsi is a single mother to two lovely kids. Brought up in the UAE, now a Canadian, she is originally from India.  She is a professional chef with a vast Canadian hospitality experience & a food enthusiast who loves to pen down & share her knowledge of food. Working hard & learning through her experiences she dreams of having her own concept restaurant someday.