Etli Nohut (Turkish Chickpea & Meat Stew)
ایتلی نوحوت (ترکی چنے اور گوشت کا سالن)
Etli nohut means "chickpeas with meat", and it's one of the pillars of Turkish home cooking, served in every *lokanta* next to kuru fasulye. Soaked chickpeas are simmered with a little beef or lamb, onions, butter and tomato and pepper until they're soft and the sauce has thickened. It tastes like a mild, buttery cousin of the chana gosht cooked in many Pakistani homes, and it's eaten the same way: spooned over rice.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr 45 min
- Prep: 15 min
- Cook: 1 hr 30 min
- Easy
- Serves 5
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Heat the butter and oil in a and brown the meat on high heat for 6–8 minutes. Add the onions and cook for 6 minutes until soft and golden.
Add both pastes and fry for 2 minutes, then the grated tomatoes, pul biber and pepper. Cook for 4 minutes.
Add the drained chickpeas and the hot water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for 60–75 minutes until the chickpeas are completely soft.
Add the salt and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick and coats the chickpeas. Rest 10 minutes before serving.
Serve over butter pilav with pickles and bread.
Kitchen notes
Add salt only once the chickpeas are soft, or they may stay firm.
In a pressure cooker, cook for 25 minutes after the first whistle, then simmer uncovered to thicken.
For a vegetarian version, leave out the meat and use a little more butter.
A lokanta classic
Walk into a Turkish lokanta at lunchtime and you’ll see the same trays: beans, chickpeas, a meat stew, vegetables in olive oil and a big pot of pilav. Etli nohut is one of the most ordered, cheap and filling, and many Turks would choose it as their idea of home food.
Building the flavour
The method will feel familiar. Meat is browned, onions softened, tomato and pepper paste fried for a couple of minutes, and then the soaked chickpeas simmer slowly in the sauce. Butter gives it a rounder, richer taste than oil alone, and adds gentle warmth. As the chickpeas soften, they thicken the sauce on their own.
Getting soft chickpeas
Soak dried chickpeas overnight in plenty of water. Simmer gently rather than boiling hard, and salt only at the end. Old chickpeas can take much longer to soften, so buy from a shop with good turnover.
Serving
Spoon over şehriyeli pilav and serve with pickles, raw onion and a glass of ayran. Like most stews, it tastes even better the next day.
Questions people ask
Can I use tinned chickpeas?
Yes. Use two 400 g tins, rinsed, with 2 cups of water, and simmer for 25 minutes after the meat is tender.
How is it different from chana gosht?
Chana gosht uses ginger, garlic and garam masala. Etli nohut uses butter, pepper paste and very few spices, so it's milder.
What do Turks serve with it?
Pilav, pickles (turşu), raw onion and a glass of ayran.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 390
- Protein
- 23 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
