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Moroccan cuisine Soups

Berkoukech: Moroccan Mhamsa Soup

بركوكش

Small round pasta, tender vegetables and a fragrant broth make a warming bowl. The last addition determines whether it stays a soup.

SmartRestro editorial 4 min read
Moroccan berkoukech soup with round pasta, chickpeas, carrot and courgette in tomato-colored broth.
This vegetable-and-chickpea adaptation leaves plenty of broth around the round mhamsa pasta.

A bowl built around the pearls

Coarse pasta in a generous broth

Berkoukech is part of a wider North African family of preparations using large, round semolina grains or pasta. Moroccan recipes also use the name mhamsa. A bowl may contain meat, pulses and vegetables, but its most recognizable texture comes from the little rounds suspended in the cooking liquid.

Nargisse Benkabbou makes a meat-and-vegetable soup with chickpeas, while Choumicha Chafay’s version includes several pulses and vegetables. These are useful examples of variation, rather than a single compulsory formula. The recipe below is a meat-free home adaptation using already cooked chickpeas.

Small round pale dry mhamsa pasta in an unlabeled bowl and wooden spoon.
Mhamsa is round semolina pasta; check the packet for the cooking time of the product you buy.

Buy for texture, cook for the packet

Look for round mhamsa pasta in a Moroccan or North African grocery. DARI describes its product as durum-wheat semolina pasta and gives a nine-minute boiling method. Other berkoukech preparations use different times, so the packet and a tasted pearl are more useful than one universal instruction.

If using another pearl pasta, regard it as a substitution and follow its own cooking directions. Fine instant couscous changes the texture completely. This dish needs a simmer that cooks the rounds through, with enough liquid remaining to spoon between them.

Cook it at home

Vegetable and chickpea berkoukech

An original four-serving home adaptation. About 15 minutes of preparation and 35 minutes of cooking with a quick-cooking mhamsa; a slower product will extend the time. Use canned cooked chickpeas, rather than substituting dry pulses directly.

Ingredients

Soup base

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 250 g ripe tomatoes, coarsely grated, discarding tough skins
  • 1 teaspoon tomato paste
  • ½ teaspoon each ground ginger and ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1.5 litres light vegetable stock, plus hot water as needed
  • 150 g carrots, cut into small cubes
  • 250 g courgette, cut into thick half-moons
  • 240 g drained canned cooked chickpeas

Finish

  • 200 g dry mhamsa round pasta
  • 2 tablespoons chopped coriander and parsley
  • To taste salt and black pepper
Allergens Mhamsa contains wheat and gluten. Check the vegetable stock for celery and other declared allergens; this adaptation contains no added meat or dairy.

Method

  1. 1

    Soften the onion

    Warm the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook gently for about 6 minutes, stirring, until softened. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and ground spices; stir for 3 minutes until fragrant.

  2. 2

    Start the vegetables

    Pour in the stock and add the carrots. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the courgette and cooked chickpeas; simmer for 5 minutes, until the vegetables are approaching tenderness.

  3. 3

    Cook the rounds last

    Stir in the mhamsa and simmer for its packet time, stirring occasionally so it does not catch. Begin tasting near the suggested endpoint: the rounds should be tender through the center, with a little bite. The vegetables should now be tender too.

  4. 4

    Keep it loose and serve

    Add hot water if the soup is becoming dense; broth should flow freely around the ingredients. Stir in the herbs, then taste before adding salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve promptly.

A ladle of berkoukech broth containing small pasta pearls, chickpeas and vegetables above a pot.
Add the pasta near serving time and ladle the soup while the pearls remain distinct.

Taste the whole spoonful

The pasta contributes a mild wheaty bite, so let the vegetables and broth carry the seasoning. Carrot sweetness, tomato acidity and restrained spices should still be easy to distinguish. A spoonful should include both solids and liquid, with tender vegetables rather than a mash.

Choumicha notes that more hot water can be added when the grains need it. Keep that option beside the stove, especially when trying an unfamiliar packet. The small adjustment matters more than forcing the soup into a fixed liquid ratio.

Research notes

Sources and further reading

Three culinary preparations and a Moroccan manufacturer's product instructions informed the ingredient choice, variations and cooking guidance.

  1. My Moroccan Food: Berkoukech soup Nargisse Benkabbou’s soup and her warning about the grains absorbing broth while waiting.
  2. Choumicha: Berkoukech with vegetables Choumicha Chafay’s mixed-pulse and vegetable preparation, including liquid adjustments.
  3. La Cuisine Marocaine: Mhamsa marocaine A separate meat-and-vegetable soup method using mhamsa.
  4. DARI: Mhamsa product and cooking directions Manufacturer's durum-wheat ingredient specification and product-specific boiling instructions.

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