Chickpea and Tomato Stew

I had tinned tomatoes and dried chickpeas sitting around so I decided to make up a recipe using some other ingredients that were in the kitchen - I got to open up my ground coriander and turmeric containers which was an achievement. This savory stew is great as a side dish, as seen above, or it could be a very filling meal with some bread and perhaps a small salad.

Chickpea and Tomato Stew

Ingredients

500g dried chickpeas
2 medium onions, sliced into half-moons
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 knob of ginger, finely chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

Method

Soak the chickpeas overnight and then simmer until tender. In another heavy pot or Dutch oven, cook onions, garlic and ginger in some olive oil until tender and then add turmeric, cumin and coriander. Cook for another minute or so, until the spices release their flavor, and then add the tins of tomatoes and deglaze the pot, scraping up any bits that are stuck to the bottom. Simmer for about 5 minutes, adding salt to taste. Add chickpeas to the tomato mixture and cook for another 10 minutes, until flavors have had time to mingle. Serve immediately, or prepare one day in advance (the flavors are even better the next day!)