Meat
The Africa News Cookbook
3 hours

• 1/4 to 1/2 lb stewing lamb per person
• 1 large or 2 medium onions
• 3 tblsp. tomato sauce
• 2 tblsp. turmeric
• 3 to 5 chili peppers
• 1 tblsp. salt
• 1 tblsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. fenugreek seeds
• 2 tsp. coriander seeds, crushed
• 1 tsp. ground allspice (Or mizture of cinammon, cloves, and nutmeg)
• At least 4 of your choice of the following vegetables: carrots, pumpkin, winter or summer squash, potatoes, turnips, leeks
• For chickpeas sauce:
• 1 oz. dried chickpeas per person
• 1 large onion for every 2 people
• pinch of salt
• olive oil for frying
• 2 oz. dry couscous per person
• salt

The lamb stewcan be made with different cuts of lambs-- neck, breat, shoulder-- as the bonesand cartillage give more flavor and richness to broth.

Brown the meat and onions in enough hot olive oil to cover the bottom of a large stew pot. Add tomato paste, spices and water to cover. Let the mixture simmer for an hour before adding your choice of vegetable, which should be peeled and cut into large chunks. Root vegetables will take the longest to cook, so add them first. Summer squash will only need about 15 minutes. Add more water if necessary, taste for seasonings, and cook until the veegtables are tender.

Simmer the chickpeas in plain water until-- 2 hours or longer, depending on the peas. An alternate method is to cook them in your over at its lowest setting for several hours. (If you're pressed for time, you can substite canned chickpeas) Slice the onions thinly, then salt and saute them gently in olive oil until limp. Add a little of the broth from the lamb stew and simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Add drained chickpeas and cook for 20 more minutes.

To assemble and serve: in a large bowl or deep platte, spread and fluff up the hot grain. Por on the broth from the stew until the couscous is lightly coated. Dustribute the onion and chickpeas mixture evenly over the surface. Then arrange meat and veegatables in the center and sprinkle lightly with ground cloves or allspice. Serve more broth separately.