CHICKPEA STEW WITH MOROCCAN SPICES - VEGETARIAN AND GLUTEN FREE

By Humaira

I became gluten free two weeks ago. After years of resisting my doctor's recommendations and ignoring various positive gluten intolerance tests, I finally succumbed to becoming one of those annoying people who interrogates waiters about gluten free dishes.

My search for gluten free recipes took me to the New York Times food page where I found Melissa Clark's Chickpea Stew with Moroccan Spices. Considering legumes are a big part of Afghan cuisine and most of the Moroccan spices in this recipe are also Afghan spices, I thought you would enjoy this hearty stew as much as I have. You may watch Melissa demonstrate this dish in this two minute video.

Please share your comments on this and other recipes in the comment section of my blog.

New York Times FOOD

Chickpea Stew with Moroccan Spices

Almost Afghan

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 Spanish onions, chopped

1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded if desired, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

 Pinch of cayenne

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 fennel bulb, diced (save fronds for garnish)

1 very large bunch chard, stems sliced 1/2-inch thick, leaves torn into bite-size pieces

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 large turnip, peeled and diced

1 pound dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in water to cover or quick-soaked (see note)

⅓ cup diced dried apricots

2 tablespoons chopped preserved lemon, more to taste

½ cup chopped cilantro, more for garnish

Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Add onion and jalapeño and sauté until limp, 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, salt, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper and cayenne and sauté until they release their fragrance, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and sauté for another minute, until darkened but not burned. (If tomato paste looks too dark too quickly, lower heat.)

Add fennel, chard stems, carrot and turnip and continue to sauté until vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes. Add chickpeas and water to barely cover.

Return heat to high if you lowered it and bring to a simmer. Partly cover pot, lower heat to medium low, and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until chickpeas are softened. Add more water if needed (this should be like a stew).

Add chard leaves, apricots and preserved lemon to pot and continue simmering until chard is tender, about 5 minutes longer. Season with more salt if desired, and serve garnished with cilantro and reserved fennel fronds. 

To quick-soak chickpeas, bring them to a boil in water to cover by 1 inch. Turn off the heat and let soak for 1 hour. Drain.

Recipes by Melissa Clark in The New York Times FOOD Section on February 13, 2015

AFGHAN RICH MILK AND ALMOND PUDDING-KAJKOOL-E-FUQARA

                                                         

By Humaira

Today's recipe is an edited excerpt from Helen Saberi's cookbook, Afghan Food and Cookery. When I first started blogging, Helen's book was the guiding light to balanced spicing and naming of dishes. Two years ago, I was very honored when Helen reached out with a generous compliment about my work. Since then, she has kindly contributed several recipes to this blog - Qaymaq Chai, Tea and Hospitably in Afghanistan, Quince and Yogurt Trifle, and Afghan Fish Stew. Today's recipe is a sweet dessert pudding, kajkool-e-fuqara, a perfect addition to your Nowroz celebration.

Excerpt from Afghan Food and Cookery:

The name of this rich milk and almond pudding, which is flavored with rosewater, ironically means "beggar’s bowl". There are many variations of the same dessert found in Iran and the Middle East, usually known as keshkul-e-fuqara.  The recipe below is an Afghan version.

Kajkool, is the word for an oval bowl made either of wood, metal or a coconut.  These bowls were carried suspended by a chain from the shoulder by fuqara or beggars.

Fuqara, who call themselves “the paupers of God”, are like dervishes who devote their lives to seeking God and are not interested in ownership of property or worldly goods. They travel from house to house begging for food. Donations of food (and sometimes money) are placed in the kajkool that is eventually filled with different kinds of food. 

A faqir or beggar is considered to be a holy man with special healing powers and in exchange for the food he prays for the people, often sprinkling them with rosewater from a gul-ab-pash, a type of glass or metal bottle with a sprinkler.

The name of this rich milk dessert is derived from it being sprinkled and decorated with a variety of nuts and coconut, symbolizing the kajkool being filled with a variety of food.

Kajkool-e-Fuqara

Rich Milk and Almond Pudding  

1 cup plus 1 ounce blanched almonds (135 grams)

1 ounce  blanched pistachio (25 grams)

1/2 fresh coconut or 1/2 cup dry chopped coconut

3 heaped tablespoons cornflour/cornstarch

3 1/2 cups milk (1 liter)

1 1/4 cups sugar (275 grams)

1/4 cup rosewater (55 milliliter)

1/2 teaspoon cardamom 

Pour 8-ounces of boiling water over the one cup of blanched almonds in a bowl and leave to soak for about 15 minutes. Blend the mixture in a blender and puree.  Strain the almond milk through a double layer of cheesecloth or muslin into a bowl, squeezing the cloth to extract as much milk as possible. Set aside.

Meanwhile flake or roughly chop the other almonds and the pistachio and simmer them in a little water for a few minutes to soften. If using coconut, remove the flesh and grate.  Set the almonds, pistachios and coconut aside.

Mix the cornstarch with a little of the cold milk into a smooth paste. Bring the remaining milk to boil with the sugar, adding the paste gradually. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon to avoid sticking. Bring to boil, then turn down the heat and simmer gently until the mixture thickens. It is very important not to have the heat too high and to stir constantly as this mixture easily sticks and burns.  If it does stick, do not scrape the bottom of the pan—this would impart a burnt taste to the dish.

Add the rosewater, milk of almonds and cardamom­–simmer gently for two minutes. Leave to cool a little and then pour on to a large flat serving dish and decorate with the blanched and shredded almonds and pistachios and the grated coconut, if used.

SPICY, CRUNCY CHICKPEAS: NAKHOD-E-SHOR

By Katie

A bowl of almonds and walnuts in the shell along with a nut cracker next to it was a permanent fixture on our living room coffee table when I was growing up.  I had forgotten about this until recently when I went to Humaira's house and she set out a bowl of shelled walnuts.  She told me her mother, Jeja had cracked them herself.  The image of Jeja, sitting at home, working her way through a bag full of nuts for her children and grandchildren was heartwarming, to say the least.  A labor of love, no doubt, by a woman who doesn't necessarily always know how to express her affection.  The walnuts were in a different category altogether from what I might find in the bins at my local market:  unblemished, with a sheen to the walnut skins, sweet, completely lacking any need for adornment.

This got me to thinking about one of my favorite Afghan rituals:  hot tea with nibbles.  In Afghanistan, green or black tea, gently scented with cardamom, is served practically around the clock.  Little dishes of snacky things are set out to enjoy with the tea:  freshly cracked nuts, dried apricots, fat golden raisins, candied almonds called noql, spicy chickpeas, and so on.  The spicy chickpeas are particularly addictive and a snack that works, to my decidedly American palate, just as well with a cold drink as a cup of tea.  You can make them start to finish in a matter of minutes; the key is having your ingredients ready before you begin. 

Spicy Afghan Chickpeas

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. ground paprika

1 tbsp. ground chili powder

2 tsp. Kosher salt

1 lb. skinless, unsalted, dry-roasted chickpeas

Heat a wok or large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add oil, paprika, chili powder and salt and quickly stir to make a paste.  Immediately add chickpeas and stir-fry for 1 minute, turning the chickpeas in the pan to coat with the spices.  Pour into a colander.  Shake the colander for 1 minute to eliminate extra spices.  Let cool and store in a jar with a tight lid. 

*You can find dry roasted chickpeas in Middle Eastern and Indian Markets

Except where otherwise noted, all content on this blog is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license.