Spelt stew with chickpeas and butternut squash

K who sent me the grain for last week's Grain of the Week had also sent a recipe to try with Freekeh, absence of which I could try with spelt. I am glad I did. It was a much sought after stew. One pot meals like this do not take a long time to cook and works very well for a weekday meal.

If you do not have Freekeh or spelt, buckwheat, farro or whole oats groats can be used.

In a dutch oven heat oil and add bay leaf if using, add and saute the onions till they turn translucent. As the onions are sauteing get the butternut squash,garlic and ginger ready.
Add in the pepper sauce and saute for a couple of minutes. Add in the butternut squash, harissa, pepper powder, cumin powder and saute for a few minutes more and then add 2-3 cups of water.
Add in the cooked chickpeas and spelt and let it simmer in medium heat for 8-10 minutes. Squeeze in the lime, check for salt and spices and turn off the heat.

I used butternut squash but sweet potatoes or pumpkin can be used in its place. Chickpeas could be replaced by another bean perhaps but chickpeas in my opinion works best in the stew. I wanted to try making the stew without tomatoes and it worked very well.

Spicy Spelt Stew with chickpeas and butternut squash
Preparation Time:20 minutes
Cooking Time:30 minutes
Serves : 4-6
Ingredients

1. 1 cup of spelt washed and soaked for about 1/2 hour
2. 1 1/2 cup of chickpeas soaked overnight (or canned if you prefer)
3. 1/2 butter nut squash peeled, seeds removed and diced (about an inch dice)
4. 1/2 cup of finely diced red onion
5. 4 garlic cloves - diced
6. 1 tbsp ginger grated
7. 2 tbsp red pepper sauce (store bought, had garlic, red pepper and parsley in olive oil but was not spicy)
8. 2 tsp of harissa (if not using the pepper sauce from above increase by another couple of tsp)
9. 1 tsp of cumin
10. 1-2 tsp of pepper powder (or as per taste)
11. salt to taste
12. 1/2 tbsp of olive oil or more (the red pepper sauce had oil as well)
13. seasonings - bay leaf (I did not use any)

Method

1. Add 2 1/2 cups of water the spelt and cook it on the stove top or cooker. Also set the chickpeas to cook. I used a pressure cooker to cook both the spelt and chickpeas in one shot.
2. In a dutch oven or a fairly wide mouthed thick bottomed pan, heat the oil and add the bay leaf, followed by the onions and garlic and saute till the onions are translucent.
3. Now add the grated ginger and saute for a minute or so.
Add in the pepper sauce and saute for another minute, after which add in the cubed butter nut squash and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add in the harissa, pepper powder and cumin powder, give a mix.
4. Add 2-3 cups of water and let it come to a boil in low simmer [6-8 minutes]. The butternut squash will become soft by this time.
   
5. Now add the drained chickpeas, spelt and salt and taste and add more harissa or pepper powder if required. Cook in low simmer for 8-10 minutes. Squeeze in the lime half way through.


Note:

6. You can make it as thick as you want. I left about a cup of liquid back and when cool half of that liquid gets absorbed as well.

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