Chickpeas stew with pumpkin / Prophylactic self-isolation series. Day 258th.

Drop intro

I shared a photo of this stew on the FB group and got lots of likes. Bethany and Nic asked for the recipe itself. Here it is!

Recipe

Before you start (more info on a page 2)

Passive time: If using dry chickpeas: 8 h for soaking chickpeas and 40 min for cooking. If using canned chickpeas – no need to soak and cook them; only 30 min for stewing.

Basic rule: before you start you may wash/clean and drain/dry vegetables, herbs, fruits and other ingredients when needed

ingredient	eu	us
chickpeas, dry OR	100 g	0.5 cup
chickpeas, canned	200 g	1 cup
pumpkin flesh	200 g	1 cup
red bell pepper	1	1
olive oil for stewing or ghee butter (for vegetarian version)	1-2 Tbsp	1-2 Tbsp
onion (optional)	1	1
garlic cloves (you may add grated ginger instead of garlic)	3-4	3-4
bay leaves	3-4	3-4
allspice berries	6-12	6-12
curry powder	1 tsp	1 tsp
salt	1 tsp	1 tsp
vegetable bouillon cube	1	1
water for stewing	250 ml	1 cup
dill, fresh	handful	handful

How to make it:

1. You may use dry chickpeas or canned chickpeas

If using dry chickpeas – soak it before making a stew for at least 8 hours or overnight and then cook for 40 min on a medium heat.

If using canned chickpeas – no soaking and cooking is needed, so you save 8 h 40 min at least.

However, in both options I recommend to remove the shells from the beans. I will explain here below how to do it.

2. How to remove the shells from chickpeas / chickpeas exfoliation

• After cooking the beans, pour out water and cool down chickpeas by adding and pouring out cold tap water (I have water filters installed, that why I can do so just using tap water).  For canned chickpeas – place chickpeas into a bowl with hot water for a few minutes, and then cool it down by adding and pouring out cold water
• Now for both options: Roll cooled down chickpeas between the fingers slowly, firmly, but gently for 1 minute. Chickpeas should not be kneaded, the goal is to remove outer shell from it

• Put a colander over an empty bowl
• Add double amount of water to cover chickpeas sufficiently and then pour water out through a colander to catch the shells in it, while water will stay in a bowl

• Repeat a scrolling of chickpeas and catching the shells 2-3 times while using the same water from a bowl

You may learn more about exfoliating the beans in my previous post about HUMMUS

3. Now stewing

• Preheat a pan, add olive oil (or ghee butter) and sauté cut onion for 5-6 min
• Add minced garlic, cubes of pumpkin flesh and sauté for another 5 min, stirring it time to time
• In a kettle or pan, bring to a boil 250 ml (1 cup) of water and add to a pan along with bouillon cube, salt and spices
• Add chickpeas, grated or finely chopped bell pepper, mix well, cover with a lid and stew for 10 min
• When ready – add chopped fresh dill and serve!

Important notes

• I know a friend of mine does not eat onions, some people do not like garlic. No worries! Just ignore them, you may use grated ginger instead, but sauté it shortly – no longer than 1 min.
• I personally prefer to make this stew from dry chickpeas, because the flavor and nutritional value are of course higher than canned beans. But anyway, two options are possible:)