๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait
Dango
ุฏููู ยท dango
The paper-cone chickpea snack of the old souq โ boiled soft and brothy, seasoned at the last minute with salt, chili and a squeeze of lime.
Serves a big warm potful
Photo to come
Ingredients
- 3 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight with 1ยฝ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Fresh water, to cover generously
- 6โ8 dried red chilies (optional, the fiery school)
- Salt โ added with a free hand, to taste
- At serving: black pepper, a pinch of cumin, lime wedges or slices
- Flatbread, for scooping
Method
- Soak the chickpeas overnight with the bicarbonate of soda; drain and rinse.
- Cover with plenty of fresh water in a big pot with the salt (and the chilies, if you like it hot).
- Boil gently for an hour or more, topping up the water, until completely tender โ creamy, never chalky.
- Ladle warm into cups with a little of the cooking broth.
- Season each serving with black pepper, cumin and lime.
- Save the cooking water โ the old cooks put it into the next soup.
The family table
By nearly every Kuwaiti co-op stands a nakhi-and-bajella shop โ steaming stainless vats, takeout only, some unchanged since the 1960s, when Iranian-Kuwaiti families opened them. Orders triple in Ramadan, and regulars bring their own pots. Dango is the chickpea; bajella, its fava-bean twin, is eaten exactly the same way.
Yumma
Middle Eastern home cooking, organized by country. Your family’s version is the one that counts.