Crispy Chickpeas With Beef

suggestions from our family (my husband hails from the Levant): (1) fry onions along with the meat, (2) coriander is another good addition to the spice mix, (3) add lemon juice & chopped sun-dried tomatoes at the end to help with dryness, (4) serve with a side of arugula drizzled with lemon juice & salt

This is basically a quicker, simpler version of the Indian dish chole keema, which I make often. If you have it, I would use garam masala instead of the cumin in this recipe for a better depth of spice flavors. A heavy pinch of sugar is also a nice counterbalance to the spices.

How about Bulgar wheat? And please, no turkey(smells like singed feathers); use 1/2 lb ground lamb or beef w. your spices-cumin, turmeric, Aleppo pepper (Amazon) would go great for a little heat, real garlic, all in olive oil (margarine-I cringe). This is a mid-eastern style dish. Saute meat, then drain fat in colander to omit grease. Cilantro, absolutely. Lemon juice is also a plus. I've been making takes on this for years.

With ground lamb, great! Make a quick yogurt or sour cream based fresh condiment to dollop on top!

The recipe calls for a cup of cooking liquid - if using canned chickpeas should the liquid from the can be used? I've always been under the impression that this is a bad idea so I'd be inclined to use water instead

This has become a back-pocket recipe that my husband and I both love. I up the spices and garlic and use whatever ground meat we have on hand. I also add a lot of chopped parsley at the end and a big squeeze of lemon.

Add a can of stewed tomato's and this goes over the top !!!

This is a great choice for something "different" for dinner that is SO easy. Do not let it become dry at the end...serve it immediately. Cilantro makes the dish. Served w/ a big salad on the side.

I used ground turkey as a healthier option and added the rice to the ground-turkey and chickpea combo after having cooked both separately. I then added 1/4 cup chicken stock and then let everything simmer on a slow boil. To "spice" it up I added saffran. And, to add some color I added about a tablespoon of tumeric. A little margarine/butter and salt, or garlic salt, as needed. (I felt it needed more salt at the end to bring out all the flavor; though be careful not to oversalt.)

I made this as directed (1 # ground beef), but added a splash of dry white wine and a heavy shake (about 1/4 tsp) of sumac. Delicious. I'm looking forward to trying it with different spices - there are a lot of good recommendations here.

Fry onions with meat. Instead of chickpea water use broth and splash wine or vermouth.

Used Jimmy Dean bulk breakfast sausage for the meat. The first time we had it over quinoa. The second time over Red Lentil Pasta from Trader Joe's. Both versions were excellent. My husband is diabetic and neither version caused him to have high blood sugar.

This has become one of our favorite dishes. We serve it in pita pockets topped with tzatziki.

This was great with chopped tofu instead of the meat. Added a dash of paprika and a splash of lemon juice at the end; it really brought out the flavors.

If you have leftovers, it's great for breakfast with a runny fried egg.