Name: Zucchini/Courgette Stew (Margat Shijar)
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Cuisine: Iraqi
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon curry powder; 3 medium zucchini/courgettes (about 1½ lb/675 g), both ends cut off, and cut into ½ in/1 cm slices crosswise; 3 heaped tablespoons (one 6 oz/175 g can) tomato paste diluted in 4 cups (950 ml) hot water or one 15 oz/425 g can tomato sauce diluted in 3½ cups (860 ml) hot water; 1½ teaspoons salt; ¼ teaspoon black pepper; ½ teaspoon crushed coriander seeds; 1 bay leaf; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 or 3 whole fresh or dried small hot peppers, for lovers of hot food; 4 chunks of meat, best cuts: trimmed lamb or veal shanks (2–2½ lb/900g–1.25 kg); substitute any cuts of meat on the bone; ½ cup (4 oz/115 g) split chickpeas, picked over, washed, and soaked for 30 minutes; 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped; 1 tablespoon oil

Preparation info

Makes
4
servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Delights from the Garden of Eden

By Nawal Nasrallah

Published 2019

About

Zucchini and all the varieties in the Old and New World have always been popular. In the medieval Baghdadi cookbooks, qar’ (gourd) was used in many stew recipes, and it was often given as a substitute for eggplant, as we still do today. Zucchini make a light and delicious stew, and the fragrance they impart is wonderful even though spices are kept to the minimum.