Chickpeas and Eggplant stew

I first tried a traditional Berber Tagine in Merzouga, a small village in Morocco, on my way to the Sahara desert camp. Tagine is named after the earthenware pot with a cone-shaped lid in which it is slow-cooked and served (the dish and the pot are both called Tagine) and it imparts a unique flavor to the dish. Moroccan food is rich in color, texture, and fragrance. This Tagine-inspired stew combines raisins, chickpeas, and eggplant with fragrant spices like cumin, cinnamon, and saffron and super easy to whip up.

Serves - 4

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large white onion, finely chopped

1 small eggplant, diced

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (or any variety, approximately 2 cups when chopped)

1 tbsp tomato paste

Salt, to taste

Pinch of saffron (optional)

1/2 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp red pepper flakes (or as needed)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup raisins

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (see below)

1 cup chopped or slivered unsalted roasted almonds

Fresh mint, chopped, to serve (as needed)

Fresh lemon juice, to serve (as needed)

To serve - couscous

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet, sauté the garlic for 10 seconds, add onions and cook until they are soft, about 5 minutes

2. Stir in the eggplant, season with salt and cook, stirring often, until the eggplant cubes have wilted and somewhat cooked

3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, stir well to combine and continue to cook for about 5 minutes

4. Stir in the ground spices - saffron (if using), sweet paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, coriander, and continue to cook, serving often

5. Add about 2 cups of water, stir in the raisins, chickpeas and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes

6. Mash a few chickpeas. This gives the dish a good consistency. If it appears too dry, you may add some hot water and simmer for a few minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed.

7. Off heat. Stir in the almonds, chopped mint and lemon juice

8. Serve hot, over a bed of couscous

*You may use chickpeas from a can or cook dried ones. if you plan to use dried ones for this recipe, soak about 1/2 cup of dried chickpeas in some water for at least 3 hours or overnight. (When I need the chickpeas sooner, I soak them in hot water for shorter time.) After that, drain the water, cook them in a large pot of fresh cold water, until they are cooked through, Alternatively, cook them in a pressure cooker if you have one.

*You can add veggies of your choice, like potatoes, zucchini, carrots as well. You can add the veggies along with the eggplant.

*Couscous goes well with tagine as it absorbs the flavors of the spices in the tagine really well. Bring about a cup of water to salted water to boil in a saucepan. Add in 1 cup of couscous. and a tsp of olive oil. Turn off heat, cover and leave for 5 minutes, then fluff up with a fork.