Turkish Chick Pea Stew (Etli Nohut)
Turkish chick pea stew (etli nohut) is one of the easiest and most delicious Turkish meals to make at home. Try this recipe. It will become your go-to dish!
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One of the innumerable benefits of marrying a Turk is visiting Turkey and eating Turkish food. I could happily live on the Aegean shores of Western Turkey or the Mediterranean shores of the south, eating fresh, unprocessed food for the rest of my days. But until those future days of sun-drenched retirement, I can at least make some Turkish dishes here in America. This is the first of many Turkish recipes I will be posting. This stew is one of the easiest and most delicious Turkish meals that I make. I urge you to try it. Even if you don’t like chick peas, I think you’ll find you love them in this dish. Printer-friendly recipe at the end of the post.
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound beef shoulder (or other stew meat), cubed
- 1 large sweet onion, roughly chopped
- 1 large or 2-3 small tomatoes, diced
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 quart unsalted beef broth/stock
- 2 (29 ounce) cans chick peas, drained
- 2-3 bay leaves
Method
Heat oil in large heavy pot or dutch oven over medium high/high heat. Add the meat.
Saute the meat until it is almost all brown.
Then add the onions.
Continue to cook over medium high/high heat, stirring often. During this time the meat will continue to brown, and the onions will start to caramelize. You want to smell the onion’s sugars caramelizing on the bottom of the pot. Keep stirring so things don’t get too crispy. After several minutes, it will look like this:
Add tomatoes, spices and salt.
And cook for a few more minutes.
Add the chick peas.
Add beef broth and bay leaves.
Simmer for about an hour, though you can certainly go longer. Most Turks rest their meals before serving. A dish may be prepared during the afternoon, left to cool on the stove, and then reheated just before serving. This greatly improves the flavor (like how chili and clam chowder taste so much better the next day). If you have the time, let the stew rest for an hour or two or three. It will only improve with time.
Serve over rice or on its own with crusty bread. Top with a bit of plain yogurt or sour cream, if you’d like, and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
Enjoy! Or as the Turks say, afiyet olsun!
Turkish Chick Pea Stew (Etli Nohut)
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound beef shoulder - - or other stew meat, cubed
- 1 large sweet onion - - roughly chopped
- 1 large or 2-3 small tomatoes - - diced
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 quart unsalted beef broth/stock
- 2 29 ounce cans chick peas, drained
- 2-3 bay leaves
Instructions
- Heat oil in large heavy pot or dutch oven over medium high/high heat. Add the meat.
- Saute the meat until it is almost all brown, then add the onions.
- Continue to cook over medium high/high heat, stirring often. During this time the meat will continue to brown, and the onions will start to caramelize. You want to smell the onion's sugars caramelizing on the bottom of the pot. Keep stirring so things don't get too crispy.
- Add tomatoes, salt and spices and cook for a few more minutes.
- Add the chick peas, the stock/broth and bay leaves.
- Simmer for about an hour, though you can certainly go longer. Most Turks rest their meals before serving. A dish may be prepared during the afternoon, left to cool on the stove, and then reheated just before serving. This greatly improves the flavor (like how chili and clam chowder taste so much better the next day). If you have the time, let the stew rest for an hour or two or three. It will only improve with time.
- Serve over rice or on its own with crusty bread. Top with a bit of plain yogurt or sour cream, if you'd like, and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Enjoy! Or as the Turks say, afiyet olsun!
This is quite a stew! I’m pinning for later and thanks for b ringing this by Throwback Thursday!
Mollie
Thank you very much, Mollie!
Your Turkish Chick Pea Stew looks amazing! Thanks so much for sharing them with us at Full Plate Thursday and come back soon!
Miz Helen
Thank you, Helen!
Hi Handan and Greg
Thanks for a great recipe, which I have printed off for my to-try-once-the-cold-weather-hits. I am looking forward to trying it now that winter is finally here in the south (Atlanta). I wanted to ask your opinion. My husband and I are travelling to South Africa via Turkey, and we have a long layover ( 9 hours or so). I see that the airport is not too far from Istanbul, and wondered if you have any ideas about where to go to eat and see a few sights. We have a lay over both ways. Do you have any recommendations?
regards Helen
Hi Helen, you’re going to love the recipe, and you’ll love Istanbul! Eat anywhere. You won’t be disappointed. Definitely visit the Grand Bazaar. You’ll never have another shopping experience like it! If you have time, also visit Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) and Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque). Anything more than that, and you’ll need to plan a trip to Turkey, which of course you should!
This is so delicious! It’s one of the internet recipes I’ve used repeatedly. That says something, because there are millions of recipes on the internet!
We love it. I even try to call it by its Turkish name, although I’m not certain I pronounce it correctly.
Thank you so much, Sheri! As a DIY blogger who’s number one passion is food, I can’t tell you how much this comment means to me! Here’s a link that’ll show you the correct pronunciation (Handan has certified it to be correct! 😊)