Ethiopian-Style Chickpea Stew

My first post is on a meal that I made a couple of months ago that I am FINALLY getting the time to document and share.  I am a little bit lost in my cooking life as I am adjusting to a drawer-less mini-kitchen and no dishwasher.  Since moving into our apartment in January, I have only gotten the impulse to cook 2 times!  I am still trying to figure out where I can get the best bargains when I go grocery shopping and how I can justify spending just as much money to cook a meal, in my tiny kitchen, when I could find a brand new fabulous restaurant to eat at every day for the next 10 years for the same price!

Well, enough complaining about my kitchen.  I am excited to share with you the first vegan meal  that I think I have ever made.  This was especially hard for me because I like to include some type of cheese in every meal!  I decided to make this because Aaron and I were about 2 months into our New York City move and we had eaten out pretty much every single night!  I suddenly couldn’t take it any more and decided that I was going to make a healthy meal that was brand new to both of us.  What better place to find a recipe for something healthy and hearty but the Whole Foods website.  I decided on Ethiopian-Style Chickpea Stew with injera (Ethiopian flat bread) because I love roasted chickpeas.  It was a perfectly satisfying fall dish that didn’t make me miss meat at all!  I would definitely make it again and I think that Aaron would agree with me.

Ethiopian-Style Chickpea Stew

1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 quart vegetable broth
1 pound red potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Flatbread

Recipe from Whole Foods

Everything’s ready to go!

Preheat oven to 450°F. Stir together paprika, salt, allspice, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, coriander, cayenne, fenugreek (if using) and ginger in a small bowl; set spice mixture aside.

A blend of interesting spices

Toss chickpeas with a tablespoon of the oil in a large bowl then arrange on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Roast chickpeas, stirring occasionally, until somewhat dried out and just golden brown, 16 to 18 minutes; set aside.

Roasted Chickpeas

Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onions and chopped ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in reserved spice mixture and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until spices are toasted and very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce and cook 2 minutes more.

Garlic, onions and ginger

Garlic, onions, and ginger plus spice blend

…and now the tomato sauce.

Stir in broth, potatoes, carrots and reserved chickpeas and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until potatoes and carrots are just tender, about 20 minutes. Uncover pot and simmer until stew is thick and potatoes and carrots are very tender, about 25 minutes more. Ladle stew into bowls and serve with flatbread on the side.

Pre-stewing

Stewed and ready to serve!

I found a recipe for injera which I will include in my post, however I didn’t love it.  I am not exactly sure what it is supposed to taste or look like, but after comparing mine with a few google images I found, I think it looked how it was supposed to.  It was just a bit doughy for my taste.  I didn’t have a cast iron skillet to fry the bread in, so that may have not given the bread a “seasoned” flavor.

Ethiopian Injera

1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
1/2 cup Whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon Baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 to 2 1/2 cups Club soda
2 Lemons, juice only

Preheat a large cast-iron skillet over a medium flame. Mix the flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the club soda and mix to a smooth batter. It should have the thin consistency of a pancake batter.

Wipe the skillet with a little oil using a paper towel. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the batter into the skillet and spread it with a spatula to make a large crepe. Let bake in the skillet until all the bubbles on top burst and begin to dry out, about 2-3 minutes.

Carefully turn the injera over and cook on second side another minute or two. Try not to brown it too much.

Remove the injera to a warm platter and repeat with the rest of the batter, wiping the skillet clean with an oiled paper towel each time.

After the batter is used up, brush each injera with the lemon juice. Serve immediately or hold covered in a warm oven.

I would definitely make this again.  It was very satisfying and perfect for a cold fall or winter evening!  The spices were very unique and totally different than a traditional American stew.

It is restaurant week in NYC and so Aaron has made reservations for us tomorrow night (where, is a surprise!), $35 prix-fixe menu at 260 restaurants!  It is a great opportunity for us to try a place that is normally out of our budget.  This will be my first restaurant review, hopefully I will have it up in the next few days!