Spiced Chicken and Chickpea Stew
This dish, sometimes called thareed, is similar to chicken curry. Instead of being served over rice, the stew is ladled over torn pieces of flat bread. As the dish sits, the bread soaks up the fragrant liquid.
Credit: Landon Nordeman
¼ cup canola oil
6 cloves garlic
3 small onions, quartered
4 medium waxy-style potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp. Spice Mixture or curry powder
1 tbsp. ground turmeric
1 tbsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
4 skinless chicken legs (about 1 lb.)
4 skinless chicken thighs (about 1 lb.)
1 19-oz. can chickpeas, drained
4 pieces khubuz al-tannour (Iraqi flat bread), naan, or pita
1 lemon, quartered
1 tbsp. dried sumac (optional)
Instructions
1. Heat oil in a 6-qt. pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onions, potatoes, bay leaves, spice mixture, turmeric, and salt. Cook, stirring and scraping bottom of pot occasionally, until onions and potatoes are golden, about 10 minutes. Add chicken and 3 ½ cups water; stir to combine. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, uncovered, until chicken is tender and cooked through, 20–25 minutes.2. Add chickpeas; cook for 5 minutes more. Taste the stew and season with more salt, to taste. Line 4 bowls with torn pieces of the flat bread. Ladle stew over bread. Squeeze a wedge of lemon over each bowl and sprinkle with sumac.
Next time I will not be making it with the canned chickpeas. I will rehydrate dried peas which I think is best and use it in the recipe (cooking it separately at first of course).
Both of these dishes are going to be on my blog for my blog interview with Annia Ciezadlo.