Chickpea Stew with Six Vegetables

Hello Fabulous Cookers
I have been cooking a lot but haven't posted in a while. I just got the cookbook World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey out the library.

This book is like a bible for vegetarian cuisine. It is over 750 pages long, and she dedicates a lot of time to describing various ingredients and spices. There are color photos in the middle that depicts everything from tofu varieties to different grains, etc.

I made Chickpea Stew with Six Vegetables. There are over 17 ingredients in this recipe, and I have to admit I didn't get them all or follow all instructions. For example, she is very much into fresh chickpeas, which involve a lot of soaking for many hours. I used canned instead. I left out the saffron, cayenne. She recommends eating it with a spicy Harissa sauce, which I left out.

It was very delicious and hearty, but I bet it would have more kick with all of the other ingredients.

Chicken Tagine with Almonds and Raisens

I got this recipe from a friend and it came out so good! Moroccan inspired, it is sweet and savory. All of the warm spices make this a very comforting kind of dish and it makes the house smell great while cooking.

It seemed like something I'd plunk down $15 for at a restaurant, yet it was incredibly easy. I have the original recipe and then have my adaptations or omissions in green.

1 3lb. chicken cut up (I used boneless skinless chicken thighs)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, sliced (I diced it)
2 carrots, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
Pinch saffron (I omitted this)
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup water or chicken stock
1/2 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup raisens or other dried fruit

1. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel. Put chicken in a large heavy pan. Season with salt and pepper, and add onion, carrots and garlic.

2. Sprinkle on the saffron, turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon. Pour in the water or broth, cover and cook on medium for 30 minutes. Because I was using boneless chicken, I cooked for 20 minutes.

3. Add the almonds and raisens. Cover and cook on low for another 30 minutes (again, I did it for 20) or until the chicken is tender. Serve with couscous or pita.


NOTES:
Although the dish had flavor, the chicken wasn't quite as flavorful as you would expect with all of those spices. I wonder what would make it so? A different cut of chicken? Marinating the chicken beforehand? Making a spice rub? If anyone tries this, please let me know. Also, for some reason by the time we ate, the almonds, raisens and carrots were a bit cold. Not sure why this happened b/c it was on the stove for almost an hour. Despite this, I would still recommend it.