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Beef Bozbash Azerbaijani style with chickpeas
Instructions
Gather all the necessary ingredients on a clean work surface according to the recipe list for making Beef Bozbash Azerbaijani Style with Chickpeas. Having everything measured and ready before you start the actual cooking process makes the multi-step recipe much easier to manage and ensures nothing important gets forgotten.
Cut the beef pulp into large generous pieces of about three to four centimetres on each side. Larger chunks of meat hold their shape better during the long simmering and produce more satisfying mouthfuls in the finished dish than smaller pieces, which can disappear into the broth.
Soak the dried chickpeas in plenty of clean cold water for a full eight hours, ideally overnight. The long soak softens the dried beans considerably and reduces their cooking time during the boiling step. Use a large enough container to allow the chickpeas plenty of room to expand, since they roughly double in size during soaking.
Place the beef pieces in a deep cooking pot, cover with cold water and add a generous pinch of salt. Bring up to a gentle boil over medium heat and continue simmering for one to one and a half hours, until the meat is properly tender and pierces easily with the tip of a sharp knife.
Transfer the pre-soaked chickpeas to a separate cooking pot and add clean water in a ratio of three parts water to one part chickpeas (so about 600 millilitres of water for the 200 grams of chickpeas). Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and continue boiling for forty minutes after the boil. Chickpeas can also be cooked without soaking, but the boiling time then increases to about an hour and a half.
While the meat and the chickpeas simmer in their separate pots, finely chop the peeled onion. Smaller dice releases more flavour into the dish and dissolves more thoroughly into the broth as the soup cooks, leaving behind only the sweet character of the onion rather than firm distinct chunks.
Once the beef is fully tender, lift the cooked meat out of the broth with a slotted spoon and transfer it to a separate plate. Reserve the cooking broth, since it will be used for the final assembly step. Let the meat dry slightly on the plate while you prepare the next stage of the recipe.
In a thick-bottomed cooking pot, pour in a generous amount of vegetable oil and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add the prepared chopped onion and fry until evenly golden brown, stirring frequently to ensure even colouring without any burnt patches.
Add the dried beef chunks to the golden onion in the pot, taking care that no broth comes along with the meat. The dry meat will brown beautifully against the hot oil and onions, whereas wet meat carrying broth would only stew rather than taking on the desired golden surface colour.
Add the tomato paste to the browned onion and meat, stir to combine thoroughly, and continue sautéing everything together for a couple more minutes. The brief cooking step removes the raw acidic edge from the tomato paste and develops a deeper richer concentrated flavour in the base of the soup.
Pour the reserved beef broth into the pot with the meat and onion mixture. The thickness of the finished soup can be adjusted to personal preference at this stage: less broth produces a thicker more stew-like Bozbash, while more broth gives a soupier consistency that suits eating with a spoon from a deep bowl.
While the meat and broth heat through together in the pot, peel the potatoes and cut them into large generous pieces of similar size to the beef chunks. Larger pieces of potato hold their shape better during the brief final cooking step than smaller pieces, which can break down into the broth.
Add the prepared potato pieces to the simmering soup pot. Continue cooking the soup over medium heat for about fifteen minutes, until the potatoes are properly tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife at the thickest part.
After the potatoes have cooked through for fifteen minutes, add the pre-cooked chickpeas to the pot with the rest of the soup. Bring everything back up to a gentle boil, then add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. If desired, you can add a small pinch of sugar to balance the acidity of the tomato paste in the broth.
Beef Bozbash Azerbaijani Style with Chickpeas is now ready. Remove the pot from the heat and let the soup steep gently with the lid on for ten to fifteen minutes off the heat. The brief resting time allows all the flavours to merge fully into the harmonious whole that defines properly cooked Bozbash. Pour the steeped soup into deep portion plates and serve at the table. Optionally add fresh chopped cilantro or parsley to each plate. Bon appetit!
Tips
- 1
Always soak the chickpeas for the full eight hours called for in the recipe, since unsoaked chickpeas can take up to two hours to cook through to the proper tender doneness. The long soak also helps reduce the well-known digestive effects of chickpeas by leaching out some of the indigestible sugars, which makes the finished soup easier on the stomach for sensitive eaters at the dinner table.
- 2
Use a properly thick-bottomed cooking pot for the simmering steps, since thin pans tend to create hot spots that can scorch the tomato paste and produce a bitter aftertaste in the finished broth. To pair this hearty Azerbaijani stew with another properly traditional meat dish, try our beautifully tender step-by-step how to properly boil beef guide for an even more refined celebration meal.
- 3
Always brown the boiled beef in oil with the onions before adding the broth, since the dry-fry browning step develops the deep savoury Maillard flavours that distinguish a great Bozbash from an ordinary beef stew. Boiled meat added straight to the broth without browning produces a much paler less satisfying finished dish that lacks the characteristic richness expected from this classic recipe.
- 4
Bozbash tastes considerably better on the second day after the flavours have merged fully in the refrigerator overnight, which makes it a clever choice for advance preparation. For another properly hearty traditional dish to add variety to your weekly menu, try our beautifully tender chicken with potatoes and zucchini in the oven for a lighter alternative.
FAQ
Can I use lamb instead of beef in this dish? +
Absolutely. Lamb is the genuinely traditional protein for Azerbaijani Bozbash and produces a noticeably richer more authentically flavoured finished dish. Use the same total weight of lamb shoulder or lamb leg in place of the beef called for in the recipe. The cooking time will be very similar, since both meats need long gentle simmering to reach the proper tender doneness. Trim away excess fat before cooking to prevent the broth from becoming too greasy.
What can I use instead of chickpeas? +
Other large beans such as cannellini beans, butter beans, large white beans or even black-eyed peas all work as substitutes for the traditional chickpeas in this dish. Each variety brings its own slightly different texture and flavour to the finished soup. Whichever bean you choose, follow the same overnight soaking and pre-cooking technique called for with the chickpeas, since dried beans always benefit from soaking before being added to a finished dish.
How long does this soup keep? +
Store the cooled soup covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to four full days for best results. The flavours actually improve significantly during the first two days as all the ingredients continue to merge fully into a beautifully harmonious whole. The soup also freezes brilliantly for up to three months in airtight portion-sized containers, which makes it a clever choice for batch cooking on a quiet weekend afternoon for use during a busier week ahead.
What can I serve alongside this dish? +
Bozbash traditionally arrives at the table accompanied by warm flatbreads such as Azerbaijani lavash or simple pita, plus a small bowl of fresh tangy yoghurt for spooning over the soup. A generous handful of fresh cilantro, parsley or dill scattered into each bowl just before serving adds a bright fresh garden note. A simple green salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil makes a refreshing counterpoint to the hearty rich soup at the dinner table.
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