As easy, flavorful vegan Moroccan Chickpea Stew brightened with Harissa spices is what I have for you today.
Moroccan food is among my favorites when we eat out. For one, it is never hard to find vegan dishes in Moroccan restaurants because the cuisine of that region is rich in vegetables and grains and legumes and spices. Then there are the candles, the belly dancing, and all those other fun trimmings. What’s not to love?
But if you are willing to forego the extras, it can be quite easy to whip up a divine Moroccan dinner right in your own kitchen. Better, you can make it really healthy.
This Moroccan Chickpea Stew is just such a fragrant concoction, and I’ll bet you will want to eat every last drop of it right at one sitting.
I love chickpeas– they’re quite possibly my most adored legume– and I sometimes really, really crave them. As I was this weekend, when I decided to make this stew. I use a number of veggies in this stew, so it makes for a complete meal with some couscous, bulgur, rice or even some polenta, which is what I served it with.
The chilli paste I stir into the stew at the tail end is called Harissa, and it is a traditional North African paste that is just bursting with flavor. Don’t skip it, because it really makes a huge difference.
Enjoy the vegan Moroccan Chickpea Stew! It’s a keeper.
Moroccan Chickpea Stew
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chickpeas , soaked for a few hours or overnight, then cooked until tender in a pressure cooker or on the stovetop.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion , finely diced
- 5 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 red bliss or yellow potatoes , diced
- 2 carrots , finely diced
- 20 cherry tomatoes , halved, or about 5 plum tomatoes, quartered
- 1 zucchini , finely diced
- 1 green pepper , finely diced
- 1 tbsp coriander + 1 tsp cumin seeds , ground into a powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tbsp thyme , remove leaves from stems and run a knife through them.
- For the Harissa paste
- 15 red chilies , soaked for about 2 hours and then drained
- 8 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp cumin seeds + 1 tsp coriander seeds , lightly toasted, then powdered in a spice grinder.
Instructions
- Make the Harissa paste by putting all of the Harissa ingredients in a food processor and process until fairly smooth. You can freeze the remaining paste in an air-tight jar.
- In a large saucepan, heat the oil and add the onions.
- Fry until the edges are browned. Add the ginger and garlic and saute another minute.
- Add the chickpeas and about 2 cups of liquid. Add tomatoes, coriander-cumin powder, potatoes, turmeric and salt to taste.
- Cover and cook about 20 minutes.
- Add the thyme, carrots, zucchini and green peppers. Cook another 10 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
- Check salt. Stir in 2 tbsp of the Harissa paste (recipe follows).
- Serve hot.
***
Here’s Freddie out for a leisurely morning walk. He loves to walk really, really slow, taking his time to sniff every calling card he finds along the way. Strange, those dogs.
(C) All recipes and photographs copyright of Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes.
I love the combo of couscous & Veg stew, I ve my version posted earlier which is little similar. Harissa is the key ingre as u said ! That is perfect meal 🙂
Love the color of the stew Vaishali..:) YUMMY!
Cheers,
Siri
that is a nice wholesome stew. love anything with lots of veggies. will try it for sure
Hey! I made something very similar but its a soup and blogged it yest!! Great stew that is – I can vouch for that:)
fredie is so cute! how old is he? anyways ur recipe is good…luv chikpea a lot!
I love chickpeas too….love veggies:)
Just to think of this dish makes me very hungry for spicy chickpeas. What’s not to love, indeed!
Freddie’s a dear, old chap. I’m glad he is enjoying himself despite slowing down. : }
Chickpea is a favorite of mine too and anything with chickpeas and vegetables and so colorful is right up my alley…will give it a try soon:)
this looks like such a delicious meal. i love chickpeas in stews and curries. love the pic of freddie as well.
I’m always up for anything with chickpeas in it. Certainly looks good.
Morrocan food has a lot in common with Indian food, flavour wise, I think.
Harissa, wonder whether I can get them in Malaysia. Time to check out the local stores.
Cham: Thanks. The harissa does indeed make all the difference.
Siri, Karuna, Sunshinemom, Christy, Susan, Usha, Jo, Thanks!
Sangeeth: Thanks! Freddie will be 16 in December. He’s quite a guy!
Aparna: You’re right. Moroccan food does indeed share a lot of the same flavors as Indian cuisine, making it very appealing, I think, to our tastebuds.
Pete, You can easily make the harissa yourself, following the recipe in my post. I guess you might be able to find the paste readymade at some ethnic stores.
the stew looks so good & hearty, Vaishali! harissa, just the thing to spice it all up 🙂
Vaishali I made the stew today for dinner and we all loved it absolutely. It was very filling and tasty. My husband couldn’t get enough of it. I wanted to take a picture to put it in the blog but it became so dark here around 6.30pm itself. So I have reserved a small portion to take a picture tomorrow. I forgot to soak the red chillies, so I just ground it fresh for the harissa and it did taste well. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Richa, Thanks.
Madhuram, So glad you tried the stew. I’ve been sick and lying low this past week, but you really made my day. Thanks!
Hi Vaishali. This looks so good and as I prepare meals for my elderly mother, who loves chickpeas, this will be a part of tomorrow’s dinner. Can you tell me when you soak the chilis – are they the dried ones or fresh. Never heard of soaking before, so just want to check this out. Thanks so much.
Hi Vaishali,
Can u tell me which red chillies are you mentioning? Can i use the red dry cillies?
Shailly, yes, I mean the dry red chillies. Feel free to write if you have other questions.
Hi Vaishali,
I made this recipe on Sunday, and since I’m in Barbados I alternated a couple things (pumpkin for zucchini, 1 potato for 1 sweet potato, and red chilis for scotch bonnet peppers). It was simple, delicious and AMAZING! The harrisa is the perfect addition, and my family also loved it. Can’t wait to get more of your recipes via email!
Can-Baje, that sounds delicious!
Hi there. I wasn’t sure if the Harissa goes in the stew or it’s a dish on the side? The photo looks delicious!
Mark
Mark, you stir in the Harissa paste into the stew at the very end. Good luck!
Hi Vaishali,
I am new for about three + months and absolutely love your food and your blog. I studied in India and miss the food. You make it so easy and simply delsih!
Thank You!
Hi Sally, thanks for your lovely message, and so nice to meet a fellow Indophile. Hope you will try and enjoy the recipes! 🙂 hugs.
Both dish and Freddie look awesome. Please what breed is Freddie?… a few weeks ago I rescued an old chap who looks like his twin brother 🙂
Hi Miru, Freddie was (he passed on in 2011) probably a poodle terrier mix. Your old chap must be really adorable if he’s anything like my lovely Freddie.
Dear Vaishali,
I am new to your e-mails and am wondering just how spicy these dishes are. For health reasons I am unable to eat very hot spicy food. This Moroccan dish sounds so good I really want to try it but am a little scared I will not be able to eat it. Please help.
Hi Pat, you can totally control the level of spice in this — just add less of the Harissa or use smoked paprika blended with some garlic and olive oil instead.