Chickpea stew with meat and pilaf with chickpeas are indispensable for folk wedding meals, especially in villages and rural areas. It is always accompanied by grape jelly. It is the condiment of soups, pilafs and especially of borani, meat or meatless dishes made with winter vegetables.
Recipe for chickpea stew with meat that can be eaten with the same pleasure in summer and winter;
½ pack of 250 g chickpeas, 0.5 kg bone-in lamb meat (lamb arm), 1 head onion (100 g), 3-5 dried peppers, 1 tea glass olive oil, 1 tea glass red pepper puree (or 1 teaspoon pepper paste), 1 water glass tomato puree (or 1 tablespoon tomato paste), 1 medium-sized tomato (or 100 g sliced tomato), 1 pinch salt, 1 liter water
Soak the chickpeas in a deep bowl with plenty of warm water in the evening. Let it soak for 10-12 hours. Wash and put in a pot and cook with 1 liter of water for 15-20 minutes. Leave it in its water.
Put the olive oil in a pot and heat it. If you have a clay pot in your kitchen, prefer a clay pot, if not, a copper or steel pot will do. Add the finely chopped onions and fry until they turn pink. When the onions turn pink, add the meat to the pot and stir fry for about 10 minutes. After roasting the pepper puree (or tomato paste) for 2-3 minutes, add tomato puree (or tomato paste) and continue roasting for another 2-3 minutes. When your stew roux is sufficiently roasted, add the boiled chickpeas together with the boiling water (reserve some of the water) and stir. When your pot starts to boil again, add the diced tomatoes and dried peppers on top and add salt (as much as you taste the water and deem necessary) and cover the pot without stirring. Reduce the fire. Your dish should cook on a low heat for about 40-45 minutes (until the water is absorbed to the consistency of stew). In the meantime, you can add the reserved boiling water by checking the cooking of the chickpeas if necessary. Check that the chickpeas are cooked, turn off the heat, cover the pot with a towel, let it rest for 15-20 minutes and then serve.
Eggplant and pepper souring (pickled peppers in a hurry) and plain bulgur pilaf go well with this dish.
