Recipe - Chickpea Stew With Sweet Onions

1 One half cup Dried chickpeas; picked over
and rinsed; soaked
overnight in ample water
to cover
2 teaspoon Whole cumin seeds
1 cup Vegetable stock
1 tablespoon Ground coriander seeds
2 teaspoon Sweet paprika
One fourth teaspoon Saffron threads
1 pn Crushed red pepper flakes
(generous)
1 pn Ground cinnamon (generous)
2 pound Red; Bermuda, or Vidalia
onions; peeled and thinly
cut or sliced up (67 cups loosely
packed)
1 cup Finely chopped fresh or
canned (drained) Plum
tomatoes
Salt to taste

Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 11:31:32 0800

From: Judy.Mingram@west.sun.com (Judy Mingram SunSoft)
This is a tested recipe from "Great Vegetarian Cooking under Pressure" by
Lorna J. Sass. The recipe calls for a pressure cooker (thus the name!) but
it can probably be adapted to standard stovetop cooking, just will take a
lot longer. I used my pressure cooker and it came out great, kind of
reminiscent of Indian food. According to the author, this recipe is from
Tadzhikistan, a region in the former Soviet Union famous for having the
largest and sweetest onions in the country. I have taken considerable
liberties with the proportions, but all the traditional seasonings are
included. This stew is delicious served in bowls on its own or over
parsley or spinach fettuccine.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Set aside. Heat the cooker and cook the
cumin seeds over mediumhigh heat just until they begin to pop, 510
seconds. Add the stock, coriander, paprika, saffron, red pepper flakes,
cinnamon, and reserved chickpeas. Set the onions on top of the chickpeas
and the tomatoes on top of the onions. (Do not stir at this point.)

Lock the lid in place. Over high heat, bring to high pressure. Lower the
heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 18 minutes. Allow
the pressure to come down naturally or use a quickrelease method. Remove
the lid, tilting it away from you to allow any excess steam to escape. If
the chickpeas are not fairly tender (they should hold their shape but be
quite soft), then return to high pressure for a few more minutes or replace
(but do not lock) the lid and simmer until the chickpeas are done.

With a slotted spoon, transfer a cup of the chickpeas (and onions) to a
food processor or blender, and puree. Stir the puree back into the stew to
create a thick sauce. Add salt before serving. Serves 46.

FATFREE DIGEST V96 #72

From the Fatfree Vegetarian recipe list. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe
Archive, http://www.erols.com/hosey.