Another simple Middle East recipe which I learnt recently is Chickpea Soup. It is served along with salads, olives, bread and yoghurt. It often forms the centerpiece of simple peasant meals. It is easy to make and very nice to have in winter days and never lasts long at my home. You can make it versatile by adding almost any vegetable to it to suit your taste. You can either add pasta or chopped spinach or broccoli or mushroom or carrot or any other vegetable. And as the name itself says, it is soup, healthy, plus no oil is used! So, forget about your dieting and enjoy this soup.
Ingredients:
Chickpeas: 2 cup, washed and drained
Onion: 2, chopped into small pieces
Potatoes: 2 boiled, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
Water: 8-9 cups
Salt: As per taste
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Chili powder: 1 tsp
Pepper powder: ½ tsp
Lemon juice: 1-2 tsp
Method
Soak chickpeas in water overnight. Drain and rinse thoroughly. Take eight cups of water in a large saucepan and add chickpeas and onion. Bring it to a boil, and simmer it for 1 hour (The more it cooks the more well the soup becomes as the chickpeas become softer and the liquid gets thicker and the soup develops a cohesion that it would otherwise lack). Then add potatoes, salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander, chili powder and ¾ cup of water. Bring it to a boil and simmer again for 1 to 1 ½ hours stirring in between. Check for seasoning and add pepper powder and lemon juice before serving.
Note: It is a good idea to taste the soup before adding lemon juice. Chickpea broth has a natural sweetness that you may prefer to leave untouched.
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