Warm Chickpea and Kale Stew with Lemon Yogurt

Dice the onion. Peel and slice the carrots into rounds. Mince the garlic. Peel and finely grate the ginger. Set all aside.

Cube the potatoes into 2cm chunks. Tear the kale leaves from the stems; discard stems and roughly tear the leaves.

Zest the lemon directly into a small bowl. Cut the lemon in half and juice both halves — you need 2 tablespoons of juice. Stir the juice into the yogurt along with the zest, cover, and refrigerate until serving time.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sliced carrots, season with a pinch of the salt, and cook 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add the minced garlic and grated ginger. Stir constantly for 60 seconds until fragrant — do not let the garlic brown.

Sprinkle the cumin, turmeric, paprika, remaining salt, and black pepper directly over the aromatics. Stir and toast the spices for 60 seconds until they deepen in color and smell deeply aromatic.

Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juices. Stir and let the tomatoes cook down for 3-4 minutes, scraping up any browned bits, until the mixture looks jammy and the oil begins to separate slightly.

Add the cubed potatoes and drained chickpeas. Pour in the chicken broth. Bring everything to a rolling boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potato chunks are just tender when pierced with a fork.

Fold in the torn kale leaves. Continue simmering for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the kale is bright green and wilted but still tender.

Remove the Dutch oven from the heat. Taste the stew and adjust salt and pepper if needed.

Ladle the stew into deep bowls. Remove the lemon yogurt from the refrigerator and stir it well, then dollop a generous spoonful on top of each bowl. Scatter fresh cilantro leaves over the yogurt swirl.

Serve immediately with crusty bread or over basmati rice, if you like.