Magical Melting Moroccan Chickpea and Chicken Tagine

'Come to my door at any hour, 

Even if your eyes

Are frightened by my light. 

My heart and arms are open

And need no rest -

They will always welcome you

Come in my dear - from that harsh world'

Hafiz

Got guests? If your a chickpea lover and want to try something new and delicious. exotic and extremely tasty... (and also have no will to chop any vegetables other than perhaps one or two onions)... then check this delicious dish out. Simple. tasty. Moroccan. (supposedly). I loved it. I hope you will to!

For me there is nothing more special than having guests at home. Some how, all of that love, and gentleness, the effort, and energy, the chitter chatter and laughter, the getting to know each other and bonding with those that you have loved for so long already - it warms my soul. 

There's a beauty in it; looking across the table at smaller conversations that erupt effortlessly around the aromas and vibrations of the background music, the reflections on the walls of the candle's lit (there are always candles) - knowing that we all look deeper into each other and leave the catastrophic disarray of dishes behind. Every step of preparation... however rushed or premeditated.. comes together... it is beautiful.. there are blessings.. and I can feel them. Sometimes its like the universe conspired to make them happen. Old friends. New friends. Special friends. We can be soft with one another here. Hugs, embraces, smiles, your guard is down. And the food, well the food, just brings it all together.  

My only visit to Morocco, when I was 16 included a visit to Chefchaouen where the streets and houses are all painted blue, the markets are bustling with hustlers and the restaurants and tea shops are overflowing with laughter, warmth and exotic colours that radiate through their guests and transport them to a place where they are not just any guest... they are the guest of honor; free from worries, and tomorrow's laundry and filled with dreams and possibilities. 

So, back to my reality ;) On this one occasion we had guests that I had not yet met, and so had no clue what they would like. But who wouldn't like Morrocco? Everyone, in their own way likes to be a guest of honour, candles, spices (not too hot though)... So. I had chickpeas.. I had bulgur (also known as burgul).. chicken, and not much else! After having had the amazing hummus recipe, I was hungry to try out some new chickpea recipes and explore their flavour. After much searching (because I don't have couscous and still don't know how to cook it.. although I promise I will learn).. I found this one by Mark Bittman. The interesting combination of dates, bulgur chicken and my newfound love spice cumin, all rolled into one.. I had to try it...

The only thing I didn't do was read the recipe properly, so when I served my guests their plates... I realised that there were hardly any chickpeas left! (there is the possibility that I kind of freaked out when preparing, so I may have cooked it for an hour or so longer than I should have...) So I wasn't really sure how to make them believe that this is a chickpea Tagine! 'well, whatever it is.... it's delicious!' was the response! Hence the name.. the Magicaly Melting Chickpea ;)

The dish is delicious. Both the chicken and the chickpeas have to be melt in your mouth to make this dish good, so if you find the chickpeas crunchy or the chicken a little tough... my advice is to bung it all in the pressure cooker a little longer while you amuse your guests with some mint tea and chitter chatter :) 

Sultana's Tips!

 My adaptations to the recipe as I find it the easiest way to remember that; we don't always have everything at hand, everything can be done slightly differently, and there are some things, that just can never be left out

My advise with this recipe would be to cook the chickpeas put the chickpeas for the whole hour an a half - 2 hours... not 3 hours like I did! if you would like them to keep their shape.. other wise.. expect absolutely delicious Magically Melting Chickpea Tagine with Chicken and bulgur Rice.. 

You may also choose to cook the Bulgur rice separately... I have tried both, and equally as delicious. I find that Bulgur has a very delicate taste anyway which is a nice contrast to the stew. I have also had this recipe with Bulgur at all... just with home made bread and home made yoghurt balls.. also extremely delicious!

So.. this recipe called for thighs... I did not have thighs.. I had little wings and random bits of chicken. I have to say it made everything a little more hands on! (Its quite difficult to be dainty with a chicken wing).. so.. think carefully before choosing your parts ;)

Finally, I would say that I got very comfortable with this recipe too early on.. on my second try, I started experimenting with left over roast vegetables.. chucking them in with the chickpeas.. swapping real tomatoes for tomatoe puree when desperate etc... I would say... don't do that.. at least not at the beginning.. (Its a lesson for myself really!) this recipe is perfect because of the balance everything has.. don't try and change it!

Without further - a do ....

Happy Cooking!

The Magical Melting Moroccan Chickpea and Chicken Tagine

2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, drained, with liquid reserved

2 cups bean-cooking liquid, stock, or water, or more as needed

Salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 bone-in chicken thighs

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger (powder is fine)

1 tablespoon cumin

11⁄2 teaspoons coriander

11⁄2 teaspoons cinnamon

1⁄2 cup raisins, chopped dates, or currants

1 cup chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; include their juice)

1⁄2 cup bulgur

1⁄2 cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

If you have dried chickpeas start here:


1. Put 125g Chickpeas in a bowl and cover with 1 1/2 inch water, leave to rest overnight
2. In the morning, put the chickpeas, Bay leaves and 1 crushed garlic in a pan. For every cup of chickpeas, add 1 cup of water. Boil for 1 1/2 hours in a normal pan, or for 45 minutes in a pressure cooker on full heat until chickpeas are tender

If your chick pea's are cooked or tinned start here:

3.  Put the chickpeas and the liquid in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Adjust the heat so the mixture barely bubbles.

4. Meanwhile, put the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add it to the skillet. Cook, turning and rotating as necessary, until it’s brown on both sides, 10 to 15 minutes. 

5. Add the chicken to the pot of beans.

6. Turn the heat down to medium in the frying pan, leaving in the fat...  and add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, 5 to 10 minutes. 

7. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, raisins, and tomato; cook and stir just long enough to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. 

8. Transfer the mixture to the chick peas and adjust the heat so the mixture returns to a gentle bubble.

9. Cover the pot and cook, checking occasionally to make sure the mixture is bubbling gently, for 20 to 30 minutes. 

10. Stir the bulgur into the bottom of the pot; it should be covered with about 1 inch of liquid. If not, add more water. 

11. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender and the bulgur is done, another 10 to 15 minutes. 

12. Serve each chicken thigh  (or as many wings as you want) with a big spoonful of the chickpea mixture and garnish with a selection of parsley, home-made yoghurt balls, home-made crusty bread with oregano.

Beware... Some... if not all of your chickpeas will Magically Melt and disappear!

Serve it up with Love!

The Chickpea and the Cook

'A Chickpea leaps almost over the rim of the pot where it's being boiled.''Why are you doing this to me?''

The cook knocks him down with the ladle.''Dont you try to jump out.You think I'm torturing you.I'm giving you flavour''

Rumi

Everyone knows there are a thousand ways to make hummus... liquid, stiff, garlicy, lemony, Tescos released their sweet chilli's all over the hummus rack (I confess, I love it), some even make avocado hummus (I'm sorry, I find it repulsive). There are even a thousand ways to spell hummus... so trying to find the 'Perfect houmous/ hummus/hummous/hommos ... recipe' is quite a challenge! Especially considering everyone thinks their's is the best... But I have found it. The best. Ever. Oven Baked Hummus... 

Are you Ready? 

Unbaked Hummus

You see, I guess it's through getting to know chickpeas that I am learning to respect the age old way of doing things. Fast living tins of Chickpea's don't exist here in the wilderness... you can only find the dried out ones... I could feel a fire inside me wanting to make the quickest most delicious chickpea hummus the world has ever known, and could remember Jamie Oliver's recipe with yoghurt.. yes yoghurt... and how everyone was puzzled and amazed when I told them that secret ingredient..

For some reason, I haven't been able to find that recipe online anywhere... (I just checked again.. and it is nowhere!) I remember something along the lines of 1 tin of chickpeas, 1 tbsp Tahini, 3 tbsp Greek Yoghurt, Salt, Lemon and Garlic to taste. All very easy, and as it turns out my secret ingredient, is now no longer secret... There are whole articles comparing the goodness of yoghurt or no yoghurt in hummus. So I won't add anything further, other than mine is the best because, I made Homemade Greek Yoghurt and then added it! Yum...

Anyway, first time round.. I was still in city mode... lets get this done as quickly as possible... (pressure cooker, baking soda, more pressure cooker) as it turns out... the faster you try to cook chickpeas.. the worse it is for your digestion.. and actually, despite all of the tricks.. it makes no sense to make a quick hummus to then be excusing yourself from the table every two minutes...

What makes this recipe super special is that the hummus is baked in the oven... I have never known anyone to make it this way, yet it was very easy, filling and warming. I have to admit, that along with my recipe book, I had also lost the source of this divine hummus recipe and I was only able to salvage the recipe due to saving it on a recipe app I was using once..... which also cleverly saved the source! Here's to Ghillie Basan for the most delicious hummus recipe yet! Click here for the book!

Baking Hummus

Hot Housewife Tips!

My adaptations to the recipe as I find it the easiest way to remember that; we don't always have everything at hand, everything can be done slightly differently, and there are some things that just can never be left out!

I have now accepted (as the chickpea had to in Rumi's poem) that letting the chickpeas rest over night in water, (1 1/ inch extra water over the chickpeas) makes them softest, most delicious, and easier to digest. And when done properly the cooked chickpea is divine, and so is this hummus. 

After resting all night long, and washing away the water and the white stuff (I haven't bothered to work out what it is although I am quite sure it is unwanted) the next step is to boil the chickpeas... usually for 45 minutes in the pressure cooker on a low heat or for an hour and a half in a normal pot. For extra deliciousness add one or two bay leaves to the pot and some crushed garlic to let the chickpeas start to absorb the delicious flavours...

Chickpea conversion : Turns out... everyone has a different version! 

My version, in my climate, is 125g dried chickpeas = 1 tin of chickpeas (400g including water 240g without)

Some minor changes to the recipe: I always wait until the chickpeas, tahini and Greek yoghurt are fully mixed before adding any ingredients that might change the taste... I also only have a hand blender and it becomes quite dangerous blending each teaspoon in electrically!... I find hand mixing with a big spoon much safer, and easier option to stop and taste the garlic, lemon, salt , pepper, etc and bring the hummus to the perfect flavour.

The rest is super easy, super fast, super delicious, super yum! Enjoy!

The Hottest Hummus Around... Smokin!

Flash Frying the Chickpeas in Olive Oil and Paprika

Serves 4-6 

2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed  (250g dried Chickpeas)

2tsp Cumin Seeds (I used ground Cumin as I did not have these to hand)

4 Cloves of Garlic Crushed

4 tbsp Olive Oil

Freshly Squeezed Juice of two Lemons

2 tbsp Tahini

6 tbsp thick creamy Greek Yoghurt (Homemade if possible!)

Salt and Black Pepper

2-3 tbsp Chickpeas to Garnish (or some Pine Nuts)

2 Bay leaves for soaking, and one extra Clove of Garlic
Paprika/Parsley/Corriander/Cumin to Garnish

Directions

If you have dried chickpeas start here:

1. Put 250g Chickpeas in a bowl and cover with 1 1/2 inch water, leave to rest overnight

2. In the morning, put the chickpeas, Bay leaves and 1 crushed garlic in a pan. For every cup of chickpeas, add 1 cup of water. Boil for 1 1/2 hours in a normal pan, or for 45 minutes in a pressure cooker on full heat until chickpeas are tender

If you have tinned chickpeas start here:

3. Preheat the oven to 200c/400f/Gas Mark 6

4. Blend Chickpeas in an electric blender

5. Add Cumin/Cumin Seeds and Olive Oil to the Chickpeas until its a thick paste

6. Add the Tahini and continue blending until the paste is very thick and smooth

7. Add the yoghurt and blend further until the mixture has loosened a little and it has a creamy texture

8. Season to taste with Garlic, Lemon Salt, Pepper

9. Tip the mixture into an oven proof dish (I like terracotta)

10. Take a handful of unwhizzed Chickpeas (or Pine Nuts) and flash fry in butter

11. Pour the chickpeas and butter over the hummus and pop into the pre-heated oven for around 25 minutes, you will notice the hummus rising in the oven
12. Garnish further (optional) with a selection of: Paprika, Cumin, Parsely, Corriander

12. Serve immediately with warm bread, olive oil, olives and lots of love! (Love is essential!)