14 January 2013

Delicious Chickpea Stew

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Cooking chickpeas is a real task. If cooked too much, you can find yourself serving chickpea mush, or on the other hand if not cooked enough you can find yourself driving one of your guest to the emergency room for an accidentally broken tooth. This recipe you are about to read will give you the perfect way to cook a delicious chickpea stew and furthermore fulfill your state of happiness.

Ingredients

  • 1 and a 1/2 cups chickpeas
  • 2 medium sized onions (peeled and finely chopped)
  • 1 medium sized tomato (peeled and chopped in cubes)
  • 2 fresh green peppers (chopped)
  • 1/2 of a red pepper (chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons of pepper paste (tomato paste will also do the job)
  • 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • boiled water (as much as it takes)
  • 1 tea spoon of salt

Directions
 
  1. The day before you intend to cook this recipes put the chickpeas in a container with water (enough to cover the chickpeas) and add 1 tablespoon of salt and sugar. The purpose of this is to soften the chickpeas and make them easier to cook.
  2. The day after strain the chickpeas and boil them in water for 20 minutes. Leave to strain.
  3. In a pot, add the olive oil, onions and peppers and saute for 3 minutes.
  4. Next add the tomatoes and continue to saute.
  5. Add the pepper paste, garlic, and strained chickpeas. Add boiling water enough to cover the mixture not more than 2 cm.
  6. Cook for 15 minutes on low heat, then leave to simmer down for another 15 mins and your stew is ready to serve!
You just can't wait to ask can you!

  • I hear you asking "aren't stews normally cooked with meat?". As you can see, if you cook this dish you get a super delicious chickpea stew and you have gotten rid of the meat.
  • This dish is especially good for iftar tables in Ramadan. It will never give you indigestion problems or the irritable bowl syndrome. If you haven't guessed already the reason we pre-boiled the chickpeas was to get rid of the components that caused this bombastic effect.
  • Those who like it like a soup can add 1-2 cups of more water while cooking.
  • This dish goes very well with bulgur pilaf and jajik. It's up to you to complete the serving and try these complementary dishes. Don't be lazy, do try them out.
  • If you still are too lazy to do the chickpea stew and the pilaf, I have a chickpea pilaf recipe coming up soon.

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