Moroccan Vegetable Stew
About Moroccan food :
In Moroccan cuisine one can see the mark left by colonizers and immigrants. The cuisine is extremely refined one and has Arab, Moorish, Berber influences. Berber influences is seen in dishes like couscous & tagine. Arab invasion saw the introduction of new spices, nuts, dry fruits. The moors introduced olives & citrus.
Coming to Moroccan stew, it is a blend of vegetables simmered in tomato gravy and flavored with the popular spices used in Moroccan cuisine. Some recipes call for addition of veg stock in place of tomato gravy. But the sweet & sour combination in dishes influenced by the Arabs makes for a delicious stew.
Moroccan Stew
Mild & flavorful stew
- Olive/ vegetable oil – 2 tbsp
- Onion – 1 medium
- Garlic – 3 cloves
- Ginger – 1 tsp (fine chopped)
- Capsicum – ½ of 1 big
- Yellow (red bell pepper – 2 tbsp, diced, optional)
- Tomato – 1
- Mint leaves (coriander leaves – 2 tbsp)
- Raisins – 1 ½ tbsp
- Almonds (blanch & slice – 2 tbsp, optional)
- Semi dried apricots (chopped – 2 tbsp, optional)
- Fresh tomato puree – 1 ½ cups (from 3 to 4 big tomatoes)
- Tomato ketchup – 2 tsp
- Salt (pepper powder, brown sugar – to taste)
- Kabuli chana/chickpeas (boiled/canned – 3 tbsp)
- Mixed vegetables (boiled – 1 ½ cups (approx)- see below)
Spices
- Cinnamon powder – ¾ tsp
- Turmeric – ½ tsp
- Whole cloves – 3 nos.
- Nutmeg powder – ½ tsp
- Red chilli powder – ¾ tsp
- Coriander powder – 1.5 tsp
- Cumin powder – ½ tsp
- Choice of mixed vegetables/mushrooms (use combination as per choice -)
- Potato (sweet potato, carrots, zucchini, spinach, beans, pumpkin, mushrooms)
Garnish
- blanched almonds
To serve
- couscous (bread, pita bread)
- If using dried, soak chana overnight, drain, add water and pressure cook till done.
- Dice onion, capsicum, bell peppers, tomatoes, vegetables. Boil vegetables. Grind tomatoes to a puree. Finely mince garlic.
- Heat oil in a saucepan, saute onion and garlic till softened. Add capsicum, bell peppers, ginger, sauté 1 min. Add tomatoes, sauté 1 min.
- Add boiled vegetables, mix well. Add mint leaves & coriander leaves, all spices. Mix well.
- Add chana, raisins, apricots, almonds. Mix.
- Add tomato puree, salt, pepper powder, brown sugar, water as needed. Simmer for 5 to 8 mins.
- Add ketchup, stir and remove from heat. Garnish and serve hot.
If using canned chickpeas, no need to boil/ pressure cook. Wash them and add to stew as mentioned.
Vary quantities of spices as per taste.
Add combination of vegetables as per choice and availability.
Instead of fresh ginger, add dry ginger powdered along with other spices.