chickpea and pumpkin tagine

Chickpea and Pumpkin Tagine / Moroccan Vegetable stew with Chickpea and pumpkin

Tagine is a Moroccan dish which is named after a particular wide earthenware pot with cone shaped lid in which it is cooked. Normally Tagine is a Moroccan style slow cooking stew in which vegetables or meats or both are cooked with special spices, dried fruits and nuts.

Chickpea and pumpkin Tagine is a stew combining pumpkin or butternut squash, carrots, tomatoes, onion with chickpea and spices like coriander, cumin , cinnamon, paprika and ginger. Cilantro, prunes or apricots, preserved lemon and almonds are also added to make this Moroccan stew different from others.
This vegetable Tagine is a beautiful orange color dish which is packed with deliciousness and great flavors. This stew is a powerhouse of nutrients and a very good and healthy meal . I love this stew especially in cold weather. In winter, what could be better than a hot and healthy bowl of this nourishing stew. Chickpea Tagine is traditionally served with couscous but it is also good with naan or rice.

If you don’t know about preserved lemon, its basically lemon pickle which is widely used in North Africa or India. It is widely used in cooking Tagines or other Moroccan dishes. In this, lemons are pickled with salt and their own juices and kept in a room temperature for 3-4 weeks or may be months. Preserved lemon takes this chickpea and pumpkin Tagine recipe from great to super awesome.

Health Check :- Pumpkin is a low calorie vegetable with no cholesterol and saturated fats. It is particularly rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, potassium, phosphorous and dietary fiber. While protein packed chickpeas are good source of fiber, iron and manganese. So combining chickpea, pumpkin, tomato, carrot, cilantro with a healthy punch of spices is definitely a good idea.  So, try this chickpea and pumpkin Tagine or Moroccan vegetable stew and send me your opinions.

Chickpea and Pumpkin Tagine

Recipe by Neha NairCourse: MainCuisine: MoroccanDifficulty: Medium
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

25

minutes
Cooking time

50

minutes
Soaking time

8

hours

A yummy Moroccan stew called Tangine containing chickpeas, pumpkin, preserved lemons and variety of warm spices.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of dry chickpeas, soaked overnight or 2 cans(15oz) of chickpea

  • 500 gms of pumpkin or butternut squash

  • 1 medium onions, chopped fine

  • 1 large carrot, thinly sliced

  • 4 medium red tomatoes, chopped fine

  • 4-5 garlic cloves, chopped fine

  • 1 inch of ginger root, chopped fine or 1 tsp of ginger powder

  • 1/2 of preserved lemon, chopped (see note below)

  • 1 tsp of cumin powder

  • 2 tsp od coriander powder

  • 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder

  • 1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder or 2 inch of cinnamon stick

  • 1 tsp of paprika

  • 1 tsp of chilly powder

  • 4 prunes chopped or 1 Tbsp of raisins

  • 1 Tbsp of roasted almond, slivered

  • 2 Tbsp of each cialntro and parsley, chopped

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • 1-2 Tbsp of oil

Directions

  • Cook chickpea in 4 cups of water with salt until tender. If you are using cinnamon stick instead of powder, drop that cinnamon with chickpea while cooking.
  • Strain the cooked chickpea and keep aside. Save the cooking water as it can be used as a stock.
  • Peel the butternut squash or pumpkin and cube it into bite size pieces.
  • In a pan or tagine pot, heat oil and add onion, ginger and garlic and cook until it is soft. ( if using ginger root add at this point or if using ginger powder add when other spices are being added.)
  • Mix in the coriander, cumin, coriander, paprika, chilly, turmeric powder and saute for 30 seconds. (Add cinnamon and ginger powder also , if you are not using cinnamon stick and ginger root.)
  • Now add tomatoes and let it cook until it is soft and mushy.
  • Then add carrot and pumpkin / butternut squash with 3 cups of cooking water or stock with salt. Put on the lid and let pumpkin or squash cook until tender.
  • When the vegetables are almost cooked, add in the chickpea, prunes and simmer for another 6-8 minutes.
  • Switch off the heat and add cilantro, parsley and almonds.
  • Chickpea and pumpkin Tagine or vegetable Moroccan stew is ready to serve. Serve with couscous or rice or just eat as it is.

Notes

  • If you don’t have preserved lemons, use 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and zest of one whole lemon. Add this at last with cilantro but the taste will not be the same.
  • You can also add zucchini, eggplant or bell peppers in this Tagine recipe.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *