Chickpeas with Beef
A tasty, aromatic, and hearty dish of Turkish cuisine. Chickpeas can be black, green, brown, or red, but in cooking, the traditional golden chickpea with a buttery texture and nutty flavor is especially popular. We started getting to know chickpeas not so long ago, and here is another dish.
Updated : 17 July, 2026
Easy
About 1 hour.
Ingredients
300 grams
Chickpeas
400 grams
Beef fillet
1
Onions
1
Carrot
4
Garlic
1 tablespoon
Tomato paste
to taste
Salt
0.3 teaspoon
Sugar
3 tablespoon
Vegetable oil
600 milliliters
Water
1 teaspoon
Paprika
0.5 teaspoon
Cumin
to taste
Pepper
to taste
Dry spices
to taste
Greens
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
This is an Eastern-style dish, and traditionally it is made with lamb or beef, but it will be tasty with any meat, so choose according to preference or what you have available.
Step 2
Sort through the chickpeas in advance, rinse them, and soak them in cold water overnight. Everything is the same as with ordinary peas, only chickpeas swell a lot and double in size, so use a spacious bowl.
Step 3
Then rinse the chickpeas, cover them with clean water, and bring to a boil. Remove the foam, reduce the heat to moderate-medium, and cook for half an hour. Do not add salt and do not cover with a lid. Drain the almost-cooked chickpeas in a colander.
Step 4
Rinse the meat and dry it thoroughly with towels. Trim off the membranes and sinews. Cut across the grain into cubes that are not too small, about 2 × 3 cm / about 0.8 × 1.2 inches.
Step 5
Wash and peel the vegetables, and prepare the chopped ingredients and spices right away. Slice the garlic thinly into rings, cut the onion into medium cubes, and cut the carrot into thin sticks about 2 cm / about 0.8 inch long.
Step 6
Heat a heavy pot, pour in the oil, and heat it well. Fry the meat while stirring, adding it in several batches so the oil does not lose its heat. Otherwise, the meat will release juice and boil instead of frying. If this does happen, quickly scoop out the liquid and continue frying. As soon as the meat turns pale and begins to brown, that is enough; it should remain raw inside.
Step 7
Add the onion and fry until translucent, then add the carrot. Keep stirring so the meat does not stick too much.
Step 8
Add the garlic, paprika, cumin, salt, 1/3 teaspoon sugar, hot pepper, and black pepper. I also added a little dry spicy seasoning blend, meat seasoning, and a tiny bit of Provençal herbs. The spice mix can be different, according to your taste.
Step 9
Add the tomato paste and mix actively.
Step 10
Add a little hot water so that it almost covers the meat, but not completely, and leave to stew over the lowest heat for 30 minutes under a lid.
Step 11
After half an hour, add the prepared chickpeas.
Step 12
Pour in enough hot water to cover the chickpeas by 2–3 cm / about 0.8–1.2 inches. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, and leave to stew for another 1 hour over the lowest heat. You may need a little more or less water than stated, depending on the cookware and the amount of ingredients.
Step 13
The finished chickpeas should be soft but remain whole. The meat turns out soft and juicy, with a thick, aromatic sauce. Serve hot as a standalone dish, sprinkled with herbs, with extra vegetables on the side.
Author note
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