Chicken soup is a perfect start for a Ramadan Iftar evening meal. Outside Ramadan the soup would make an excellent homely starter especially if you have some leftover chicken stock and breast meat.

Ingredients

• 1 pound of chicken pieces
• 2 medium onions – grated
• 1/3 cup of vermicelli
• 1/3 cup of canned chickpeas (if using dried chickpeas they have to be soaked in water overnight)
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon of smen (ghee) – or substitute with butter
• 1 large pinch of cinnamon
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1.5 litres of water (6 cups)

Directions

1. In you cooking pot, add the oil, smen, chicken, onions, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Cover your pan and cook on the chicken on medium heat for 5-10 minutes.

2. After 5-10 minutes, add 1 litre (4 cups) of water to the chicken. Cover you pan and let the chicken cook on high heat until done – which will take around 30 minutes.

3. Once the chicken is cooked, add 1/2 litre (2 cups) of water, the vermicelli, and the canned chickpeas to the chicken. Cover your pan and let all the ingredients cook for another 5 minutes.
Note: if using dried chickpeas (soaked in water overnight) you have to add them in step 2 with the chicken.

4. Add 1/3 cup of the soup to the egg yolks and beat the mixture with the parsley and the lemon juice.