Middle Eastern Spiced Chickpea Rice
This is the type of yummy food I am served when I visit my Middle Eastern relatives.
Spicy, succulent and very satisfying, instantly connecting me with the food of my childhood.
What makes this dish special is the use of the Baharat spices, adding a complexity and depth of flavour that makes this dish so tasty. Baharat can be hard to find unless your can get to a Middle Eastern grocer, otherwise it’s really simple to make your own.
Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.
Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:
Baharat Spice Mix
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Mix together and store in a glass jar
Middle Eastern Spiced Chick Pea Rice
Ingredients
- 1.5 teaspoons Baharat Middle Eastern spice blend
- 1.5 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3.5 cups water I do 2 cups homemade chicken stock and 1.5 cups water
- 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 500 g rump steak
- 1/2 cup slithered almonds pan fried in 1 tablespoon olive oil until golden
- Handful of fresh coriander leaves
Instructions
- In a medium to large saucepan, on medium heat, add olive oil and rice. Pan fry until rice granules are heated through and start to whiten.
- Add salt, one teaspoon Baharat, curry powder and turmeric and stir to coat rice.
- Add water and bring to boil, then reduce temperature to a simmer and cover for approx 12 minutes or until rice has absorbed most of the liquid.
- Stir through the chickpeas and replace lid for a further 5 minutes or until rice has absorbed all the liquid and is cooked.
- While rice is cooking, rub the rump steak with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and remaining half teaspoon of Baharat and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
- Heat a frying pan until hot, then pan fry the steak until cooked medium - rare. I did 3 minutes one side and 2 minutes on the other.
- Once cooked, rest the steak for 5-10 minutes, then slice thinly.
- Mix steak and toasted almonds through the cooked rice, sprinkle with coriander and serve with a side salad or greens leaves, plus pickles or fermented vegetables.
- Eat and Enjoy!!!!
Notes
The rump teak will keep cooking once tossed through the rice, so don't over cook it on the pan.
Cut the recipe in half for 4 servings.
Enjoy!
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Mary Hopkins
Yum Brenda this sounds delicious & I can’t wait to try it. Is is sweet paprika that is used in Middle Eastern cooking? I always get a bit confused between sweet, smokey & hot as they are quite different but most recipes just say paprika 🙂
Tobi
I loved the Michael Pollan quote you included in your email for this recipe. I absolutely agree; food is not just fuel. I used to get so disenchanted with the monotony of making meals, but once I changed my focus around to the other benefits it brings to my family / community (not only the nutritional benefits) I felt more inspired and preparing meals have become more of a joy, including getting everyone involved from menu planning, shopping the ingredients to setting the table.
I just recently watched a couple of episodes of Michael’s ‘Cooked’ series and find him so knowledgable on many facets of food. I love his ethos.
Brenda Janschek
I’m so glad you resonated with this Tobi and I couldn’t agree more! Amazing how a little change in focus can make such a big difference.