Sharing my mom's recipe and my childhood favourite snack: Surinamese Ghoegrie.

As a kid I used to eat this dish as a snack or whenever my mom and I felt like eating something spicy. It was our little moment to enjoy these spicy peas together. She would tell me stories on how she used to eat Ghoegrie in Surinam and how this is served as a vegan/vegetarian snack at parties and even weddings.

Back in the days we didn’t buy canned chickpeas a lot so my mother would soak them the night before. It’s as if she knew we would want to eat it the day after because whether I came from school, or took a break from studying or even woke up in the morning there was a pan filled with Ghoegrie. I guess a mother’s instinct goes beyond anything! 

These spicy chickpeas make an easy and delicious snack! Have you tried them out yet?

So here I’ve written down my mom’s recipe and her instructions on how to make our favourite snack! As you can see from the ingredients we still use soaked chickpeas because we love the firm texture of the peas but feel free to use canned chickpeas (we do that too sometimes). For the spices we only used garlic, onions, Madame Jeanette pepper (red and yellow) and salt. Though we don’t use a lot of ingredients, these chickpeas are still packed with flavour. Also, the Madame Jeanette peppers are a key ingredient and flavour enhancer in this recipe. I hope you’ll enjoy this easy and simple snack just as much as my mom and I do!

>>Getting the hang of cooking with chickpeas? Then check-out this vegetarian Sweet Potato and Chickpea Burger, a perfect "meaty" burger without the meat but packed with spices and flavour.

Mash the garlic and peppers in a mortar and pestle.

Add oil to a Karahi or wok pan.

Add the garlic and pepper mixture and chopped onions. Let this cook for a few minutes.

Stir in between.

When the garlic and onion mixture are light brown add the chickpeas.

Stir the chickpeas until they become a bit crispy (that's how I liked to eat mine) and golden brown. Season it with salt and serve hot.