Ethiopian Chick Pea Wat

I was scavenging for ingredients at home last night and realized I could make some Ethiopian-style chick peas.

After looking through a bunch of different recipes on the internet, I settled on the following spice mix, which seemed to follow the consensus:

• 1/2 tsp paprika .
• 1 tbsp tomato paste .
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper .
• 1/2 tsp salt .
• 1/4 tsp cumin .
• 1 potato, peeled & sliced .
• 1/2 tsp black pepper .
• 1/4 tsp cardamom

Started off by rinsing 1 cup of split chick peas, then tossing them into a pot of salted boiling water. I pulled them out after about 10 minutes, because they would further stew in the flavor base. Also, I wanted the final product to be slightly al dente (no crunch, but certainly not mushy) - that's how I've seen it served.

I started the flavor base off by sauteeing 1 minced red onion and 1 diced carrot. Once softened, 1 Tbsp each of minced garlic and ginger were added and sauteed for maybe 15 seconds. Then the spices and the parboiled chickpeas were added with enough water to cover the whole lot.

At this point I had a taste and decided it could use a boost in flavor, so I added 1/2 of a mushroom boullion cube, then simmered until the chickpeas had the desired softness. The pot was still watery, so I added some brown roux - that did the trick!

Pretty good and somewhat authentic. It could certainly use some work. It's quite a bit sweeter than it should be, and I'm not sure why... none of the spices are particularly sweet... maybe the cardamon?

I accidentally left the stove on and the finished product simmered for 1 hour longer and became a thick mush... baby food, really.