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Hergma
Lamb trotters with chickpeas
Hergma: lamb's or calf's trotters slow-cooked with chickpeas and wheat until meltingly sticky
Sticky with gelatine and warmed by cumin and ginger, hergma is the winter comfort food of Rabat's working kitchens and the dish families make from the trotters after Eid al-Adha. The feet cook for hours with chickpeas, whole wheat berries, garlic and a warm mix of paprika, cumin and ginger, until the gelatine melts into a sauce so sticky it glues your fingers together. Some cooks add raisins for a sweet edge. Eat it hot with bread, picking the tender meat and soft cartilage from the bones. A butcher who sells halal or Mediterranean cuts will clean, singe and split the trotters for you; ask for that. Chef's tip: blanch the trotters and throw away the first water; it carries off the scum and gives a clean-tasting sauce.
- Total time
- 260 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 8 lamb's trotterscleaned, singed and split by the butcher (or 2 calf's feet, cut into pieces)
- 7 oz dried chickpeassoaked overnight, drained
- 3 ½ oz whole wheat berriessoaked overnight, drained
- 1 oniongrated
- 6 garlic clovescrushed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp hot paprika or cayenne
- 2 tsp salt
- 10 ½ cups water
- 2 ⅛ oz raisins (optional)soaked
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (4)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Scrub 8 lamb's trotters under cold running water and check for any stray hairs; singe them off over a gas flame or scrape with a knife.
Step 2: Put the trotters in a large pot of cold water, bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes. Drain, discard the water and rinse the trotters and the pot.
10 minStep 3: Return the trotters to the pot with 1 onion, 6 garlic cloves, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tbsp sweet paprika, 1 tbsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground turmeric, ½ tsp hot paprika or cayenne and 2 tsp salt. Stir over a medium heat for 5 minutes until fragrant.
5 minStep 4: Add 7 oz dried chickpeas, 3 ½ oz whole wheat berries and 10 ½ cups water. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer over a low heat for 3 hours, stirring now and then and topping up with hot water if it gets too thick.
180 minStep 5: Add 2 ⅛ oz raisins if using and cook uncovered for 20–30 minutes more, until the meat slides off the bones and the sauce is thick and sticky. A common mistake is rushing it: if the skin is still rubbery and the sauce thin, it needs more time. In a pressure cooker it takes about 75 minutes at full pressure.
25 minStep 6: Taste for salt and serve very hot in deep bowls with bread.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 590 kcal
- Protein
- 38 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fibre
- 11 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does hergma take?
- About 260 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 240 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of dried chickpeas?
- Cannellini or butter beans, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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