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Tender lamb, nutty chickpeas, and tomatoes combine in a beautiful sunset-hued broth for cool-weather comfort food incarnate. Kars is beef country, so this dish featuring lamb is a bit of an anomaly. It most likely came from the Caucasus, with emigrants from what is now Azerbaijan; a similar dish in Azerbaijan, also called piti and served over flatbread, is made with saffron.
This dish was traditionally cooked in big single-serve enamelware mugs, each containing a small shank or a few pieces of boneless lamb. At the half-century-old Kristal Lokantası in Kars city, the stew is still served that way (albeit in stainless steel mugs in more recent times). To eat it, diners tear pieces of lavash into strips, place them in a bowl, and pour the broth over. As it absorbs the broth, the bread becomes dumpling-like. Some diners eat the bread-dumplings alongside the meat and chickpeas, while others pile the chickpeas on top, mash them into the bread, and eat the meat and any remaining broth on the side.
Using dried chickpeas gives the best flavor, as the legumes will soak up the delicious broth as they cook. Plan to soak them overnight. Like all stews, this one is best made at least a few hours ahead.
If you forget to soak the chickpeas, boil them in water to cover by 2 inches for 1 minute and let stand, covered, for at least 1 hour before proceeding with the recipe. Chunks of stewing lamb (shoulder or rump) can be substituted for the shanks, or you can use lamb shoulder chops (cut the meat from the bone but add the bones to the stew for flavor; fish them out before serving). If you can’t find lavash, serve with boiled or mashed potatoes instead. — From Istanbul & Beyond by Robyn Eckhardt. Buy this book from Indiebound or Amazon.
TUMERIC-SCENTED LAMB & CHICKPEA STEW is excerpted from Istanbul & Beyond © 2017 by Robyn Eckhardt. Photography © 2017 by David Hagerman. Reproduced by permission of Rux Martin Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F.
Heat the oil or butter in an 8-quart Dutch oven or other heavy ovenproof pot over medium heat. Add the onions, sprinkle over the salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not colored, about 8 minutes. Add the turmeric and stir to coat the onions.
Add the chickpeas, along with several grinds of black pepper. Nestle the lamb in the chickpeas and add enough hot water to almost submerge the lamb. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover the pot, place it in the oven, and cook for 45 minutes.
Remove the pot from the oven. Some of the liquid will have evaporated and some of the lamb shanks should have begun to brown. Turn the lamb, cover the pot, and return to the oven for another 45 minutes.
Remove the pot from the oven. There should still be enough liquid to partially submerge the chickpeas; if there isn’t, stir in 1 cup hot water. Arrange the tomato slices over the top of the stew, return the uncovered pot to the oven, and cook for 30 more minutes.
Check the stew: The tomatoes should be soft and may have browned a bit, the lamb should be tender, and the chickpeas should be cooked through. (Return the stew to the oven and cook for a bit longer if necessary.) Serve immediately, or set it aside, covered, for up to 2 hours (bring the liquid back to a boil before serving). Or cool in the pot, transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate or freeze.
