My Spicy Chickpea Stew recipe was inspired by the Dango chickpea dish at the famed DC restaurant, Maydan. This Middle-Eastern restaurant is amazing! The food is served to share with the table, so you should order a few dishes. The highly recommended Dango chickpea dish was my favorite - I'm addicted! The menu says there is chickpeas, butter, garlic, chili and lime. I recall the dish being sweet, spicy and a little buttery. Of course, the right spice blend is imperative, so I visited The Spice & Tea Exchange online store. They have a few Moroccan inspired blends, but the Baharat spice blend caught my attention. It says this spice has touches of sweet and heat and is good for Middle-Eastern cooking. Perfect! Baharat Spice Blend Ingredients..
Chickpea stew with chicken kebabs is a go-to recipe in my kitchen these days. The chicken kebabs are basic - I season the chicken with Greek seasoning (The Spice & Tea Exchange) and leave it the refrigerator overnight. I slide pieces of chicken, red or green bell pepper, purple onion and mushrooms onto the wooden skewers and grill for about 25 min. My indoor Hamilton grill has a cover and keeps the temp at 400°. I usually serve avocado, hummus, tzatziki and maybe a greek salad or Israeli salad on the side. These are go-to sides in my house. The spicy chickpea stew is what makes this meal special. It's super easy to make and the leftovers are great over avocado mash and toast. Ingredients..
Preparation.. Empty the chickpeas into a strainer and rinse with cold water. Set aside. Chop white onion and bell pepper into 1/4" pieces. Over medium-high heat, drizzle a little olive oil, add the onion and let cook until transparent. Add the garlic, red bell pepper and stir. Add the diced tomatoes and Baharat seasoning. I typically add 3-4 tbsp of seasoning. BUT, I'm an over seasoner, so I recommend you season to taste. Lower the heat and bring the dish to a light simmer. I suggest adding broth to keep the stew from becoming to thick (1/2 - 1 cup). Once the flavors have married and the diced tomatoes have dissolved a little (10 min), add the chickpeas and salt and pepper to taste. See video above. Add 3 - 4 tbsp of butter and simmer for 10 min. DONE! Chickpea stew is super easy to prepare and with the right spices will add a lot of flavor to your dish.
Rather than chicken kebabs, you can opt for Kefta. This was my first go at chickpea stew. All I had was ramen broth and I think this was the best chickpea stew I've made. Lately, I have been adding vegetable broth, but I'm gonna go back to ramen broth for extra flavor.
Kefta (beef and/or lamb kebabs) are also easy to prepare. Ingredients..
Finely chop the onion, cilantro and/or parsley (mint too). Mix all the ingredients with the beef/lamb and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour. Take small amounts of the kefta mixture and mold it into a thick sausage shape. Gently push a wooden skewer through and tighten the meat around it. Grill for approximately 5 minutes per side (depending on the thickness). Serve with chickpea stew, Greek salad, hummus and tzatziki.
This is my favorite - avocado mash and leftover chickpea stew on an English muffin or toast. It's a spicy breakfast and absolutely delicious! I will post a savory avocado mash recipe on the blog next week.. *On a side note - I was told it's super hard to get a reservation at Maydan, but if you're ok booking a month in advance, here's what you do.. Reservations are released on a rolling bases 28 days in advance at 10:00 AM. Set a reminder and book quickly, cause these slots will fill up within 5 minutes. This is stated in the online reservations section, so I don't know why people struggle to get a reservation. Maybe they didn't read the not-so-fine print?! 
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