Traditionally, Chinese people don’t eat meat on the first day of the Lunar New Year, which is tomorrow (January 31). So, if you’re looking for something that is vegetarian or vegan, but not traditional Chinese food, you might want to try this lentil and chickpea stew, inspired by a lentil curry recipe I found online. It’s fairly simple and takes about an hour to complete.
Chickpea and Lentil Stew with veggies
Ingredients needed:
- 1/2 cup of (dried) chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- 1/2 cups of lentils
- 1 tablespoon of flour (the original recipe uses all-purpose, but I used buckwheat for mine)
- 1/2 pounds of butternut squash
- 3-4 medium sized parsnips
- 1/2 a medium to large onion, chopped
- 1 medium sized zucchini, chopped
- 1 teaspoon of curry powder
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon of chopped/minced ginger
- 2-2 1/2 cups of water, vegetable broth or a mixture of both
Directions:
Chickpea and Lentil Stew, plated and served with pearl couscous and a dollop of Greek yogurt (feel free to replace with vegan alternative)
- Soak (if using dried) and cook chickpeas according to package directions (most packages recommend that one soak dried chickpeas for 6-8 hours). Set aside.
- In a large pan/dutch oven, heat the oil, garlic and ginger. Cook for about 1-3 minutes.
- Mix in the onions, flour and spices. Stir for another minute
- Add the liquids and lentils, bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. If you notice that the liquids are lowered, add additional water and/or broth, add an additional 1/4 to 1/2 cups.
- After 30 minutes, add squash, parsnips, chickpeas and zucchini. Cook until squash is tender
Serve with your starch/grain of choice (I recommend couscous or rice).
