Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas, Squash (or pumpkin) & Apricot
Pumpkin and Apricot with chicken?!!!!…..Yes! yes.! You are reading and seeing right.
Do not judge and shy away from making this wonderful one pot dish due to it ingredients. Let me assure you- it is a wonderful dish with lovely mixture of sweetness of the pumpkin and Apricot along with tanginess from lemon, which goes delightfully with chicken. Serve this with bread, couscous, or even rice and this will be a star. Today and always.
Traditionally Tagine is a North African Berber dish. The dish is named after the earthen pot in which it is cooked. I cooked the Moroccan version of the Tagine, which is slow cooked in a earthen pot called Tagine. I did not slow cook for hours neither I used the Tagine. However, I cooked for around 30/50mins to reduce the gravy and until the pumpkin and chicken became tender. Nevertheless, you can slow cook the dish and then serve in a colorful Tagine
Ingredients:
6- piece chicken thigh (fatless and skin less)
2-onions, roughly chopped
2-garlic cloves, chopped
300g pumpkin or squash, cut into large chunks
1-teaspoon of ground cumin
1-teaspoon of ground coriander
½-teaspoon of ginger paste
1-large cinnamon stick
1-teaspoon of honey
1/2-teaspoon red chili fleck
Pinch of black pepper crushed
Large pinch of saffron, soaked in 1 tablespoon of boiling water
Juice of 1/2 lemon
200g chickpeas
5/6-dried apricot
Small bunch of coriander
Salt to taste
2- Tablespoon oil
Method:
1. Heat oil in a large casserole
2. Season the chicken and brown them and keep aside
3. Add the garlic the same oil and fry until you can smell garlic
4. Add onions in the same oil and fry them until soft
5. Add the pumpkin/squash and cook for 5 mins
6. Add rest of the spices and cook for another 5 mins
7. Now add saffron, honey and lemon juice
8. Pour water and add chickpeas
9. Add the browned chicken
10. Add apricot and salt to taste
11. Cook for one hour or until squash/pumpkin and chicken is tender, the gravy thick
12. Stir through the coriander and serve with rice, bread or couscous
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