Signature Dish of the Day: Delicious Chickpea Stew

Signature Dish of the Day: Our signature dish of the day today is the ever-delicious Chickpea Stew! We love chickpeas here at the Food Raven...in fact, they rank second on our list of the best meat substitutes right after mushrooms 🙂. Also known as garbanzo beans, chickpeas are classified under the legume/pulse family and come in two distinct varieties called Desi and Kabuli. It was interesting to learn that India is the world's largest producer of these legumes...you can read more about their fascinating history and detailed classification here. There is so much to love about chickpeas...after all, they have a host of numerous health benefits and are rich in protein thus making them a great component of any healthy meal. Similar to beans, I prefer buying dried chickpeas (as opposed to canned) and boiling them at home from scratch. Coming from an agriculture-based country, I grew up watching my mum do the same at home so it has always been preference to do the same. When I first started cooking chickpeas, I used to boil them for only about 2 hours or so but they would come out somewhat still crunchy. I later learned that the best way to get silky smooth results is to let them boil for a minimum of 4 hour under medium-high heat. Always top-up the water as the chickpeas boil to ensure they don't soak up all the water and burn. I will be posting a full recipe for this scrumptious stew on our Recipe Index soon so be on the lookout for that. Enjoy and have a happy, leguminous day!😊