Makhloota - vegan legume stew from the Levant
Just when you're actually eagerly awaiting your ordered new kitchen and cursing the world for the late delivery (yep, happened to me), a stew comes at the right time. It's quick, doesn't require much cookware and it's actually always delicious! If you're a fan of legumes in addition to stews then you should prick up your ears now! Today we have a really delicious and easy to make legume stew called Makhloota. Without any meat at all!
Makhloota - the "mixed bag" stew
A mixed bag is for me since my childhood a bag full of different Haribo. My mom, however, understands it as a bag full of dry beans, chickpeas and lentils... Sexy is something else, I know!
As with many other dishes in the Levant, the name of the dish says it all. Makhloota translated means "mixed". And of course this does not mean gummy bears, kola bottles and gummy frogs, but the many different legumes that go into the stew.
Actually, you can really take any legume and it always comes out a delicious stew. I like to mix red and white beans, lentils and chickpeas and add a good portion of bulgur at the very end.
I fry the bulgur briefly with onions and tomato paste beforehand and add everything together to the makhloota. The best part about the bulgur move is that it then tastes somewhat like there is mince in the stew. I call it the "bulgur mince!" Mega good, trust me!
Comfort food meets protein bomb
I probably don't really have to explain anymore that pulses are little protein bombs. But what I would like to tell you is that you can also use dried pulses.
It's usually cheaper, saves on packaging and just tastes better too. However, make sure you soak the chickpeas and beans in the water for at least 12 hours and then cook them before using them in the stew.
But whether dried or not, makhloota is Levantine comfort food at its best!
Update 3 February 2021
I had originally developed the recipe for dried pulses, however I got feedback that the recipe didn't work out so well. Your feedback is really important to me and I always take it seriously. So I have directly redeveloped the recipe from scratch and simplified it. The basis is now no longer dried pulses, but already cooked ones. With this, you are guaranteed to get the result I had in my kitchen. There is now also more bulgur in it, which improves the texture again. In addition, the recipe is now much quicker to make. If you liked it or something didn't work out, feel free to write me in the comments.
Recipe for Makhloota
Ingredients
- 250 g cooked chickpeas
- 250 g Cooked white beans
- 250 g cooked red beans (e.g. quail beans)
- 300 g cooked green lentils or plate lentils
- 150 g Bulgur (coarse)
- 2 Onions
- 1,5 TSP Cumin
- 1 TSP Cinnamon
- 2 TBSP Tomato paste
- 7 TBSP Olive oil
- 1,2 L Vegetable broth
- Salt, pepper
- Optional: chopped parsley and (vegetable) yoghurt
Preparation
- Peel and chop the onions.
- Put the olive oil in a pot and fry the onions in it for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
- Add the cumin and cinnamon and fry briefly with the onions. Add the tomato paste to the onions and fry for 1 minute.
- Add the bulgur to the onions and stir-fry for about 3 minutes.
- Deglaze bulgur with vegetable stock and add cooked pulses. Simmer the stew for about 15 minutes on medium heat and without a lid.
- Season the stew with salt and pepper.
- Serve the stew optionally with chopped parsley and (vegetable) yoghurt.
Notes
Also be sure to try Fasolia or the spinach stew.
I followed the recipe full of expectation, but in the end I was rather disillusioned. I had to increase the amount of spices 3-5 times to make it taste like anything at all. I also added a can of chopped tomatoes and some cornflour. The stew is definitely healthy and easy to cook. However, the taste is not an outstanding experience.
Hello Bernd,
Thank you for your frank feedback. I am very sorry that you were disappointed here. May I ask if you worked with dried or pre-cooked pulses? With dried pulses, quite a lot of the liquid evaporates during cooking and starch is released, which thickens the stew. that's how I developed the recipe and cooked it myself.
Kind regards
Rafik
I made the recipe with half pre-cooked (chickpeas) and half dried pulses (lentils and quail beans) and soaked the latter (and pre-cooked the beans). It all worked out great, I love it! At home we always had vinegar with lentil stews, which I never liked as a child. With this one, I switched to some lemon juice and mint (whatever you have lying around), which I like surprisingly well. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hello Leonie,
Thank you so much for the great feedback 🙂 I'm very happy that you like it.
Kind regards
Rafik
Hi,
is the "old" recipe with the dried legumes still to be found somewhere?
Love greetings
Nathalie
Hi Nathalie,
if you prefer to use dried legumes, just soak them in water for at least 12 hours beforehand and then cook them until they are done. You can also use the soaked legumes directly in the stew, but then add more liquid.
Kind regards
Rafik