Ingredients:
- 1½ cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
- 1–2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large eggplant, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 tomatoes, diced
- 1 red capsicum, diced
- 1 teaspoon baharat (find it among spices at the shops)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon dried mint
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- Salt and pepper
- Begin this recipe the day before, by placing the dried chickpeas in a large bowl and covering them with water to soak overnight.
- The next day, turn on your slow cooker's sauté function. If your slow cooker doesn't have this function, heat a fry pan over medium heat to complete steps three and four.
- Heat olive oil in slow cooker and sauté onion until soft.
- Add garlic and eggplant. Fry these off for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the eggplant is tender. If you're doing this in a frypan, once you've completed this step, transfer the onion, garlic and eggplant to your slow cooker.
- Now add the tomato paste, fresh tomatoes, capsicum and all the herbs and spices.
- Stir through the stock and drained chickpeas and mix to combine all the ingredients.
- Place lid on your slow cooker and set on high for 3.5–4 hours.
- When stew is ready, remove the lid and give it a good stir. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with bread.