Moroccan Eggplant and Chickpea Stew with homemade cooked chickpeas

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade cooked chickpeas ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of cold water.

   Bowl

   💡Soak in plenty of water, well above what's being soaked: legumes and grains swell and drink water, and whatever sticks out stays hard. Drain well before continuing.
2. 2
   Drain, cover with plenty of unsalted water and cook 1.5–2 hours, skimming off the foam and skins from time to time, until the chickpeas are very soft and crush easily between your fingers.

   ColanderStovePot

   💡Fully cooked chickpeas crush between your fingers with no resistance at all. Chickpeas that stay a little firm make a grainy spread, and no amount of tahini will fix it.
3. 3
   Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking liquid.

   Colander

For the Fried onion

1. 4
   Ahead of time, cut the eggplant into cubes, salt and leave 20 minutes. Rinse and dry.

   KnifeCutting boardColander
2. 5
   Heat the olive oil in a wide pot over medium heat.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 6
   Add the onion and fry for 8 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and deep golden.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.

To assemble

1. 7
   Add the eggplant and fry 5 minutes.

   Stove
2. 8
   Add the garlic, cumin, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, salt and black pepper and stir.
3. 9
   Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and water and bring to a boil.

   Stove
4. 10
   Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 25 minutes.

   StoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 11
   Sprinkle the cilantro on top.