Moroccan CousCous

Madhuram — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:05:59 +0000

It’s long time since I cooked couscous, so when I googled to find out the ratio of water to the pasta (yes, it’s a pasta. Check here for more details), I landed on this Moroccan couscous recipe. I had some of the ingredients to prepare the dish, so tweaked it a little bit and was overjoyed when my son devoured it.

Ingredients

Couscous, dry 3/4 cup

Water 3/4 cup

Oil 2 teaspoons

Cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon

Onion, big, thinly sliced 1

Yellow, Orange and Green pepper 1/2 each, cut into strips

Soy Chunks, dry 1 and 1/2 cups

Coriander powder 1/2 teaspoon

Garam masala powder 3/4-1 teaspoon

Chili powder 1/4 teaspoon

Salt as per taste

Lemon juice few drops

Cilantro, finely chopped 1/4 to 1/2 cup

Yield: Serves 3 people.

Procedure1 In a medium size sauce pan pour 3/4th cup of water and let it boil.
Once the water is boiling, switch off the stove and remove the pan from the stove and set aside. Now add 2 drops of oil, pinch of salt and the couscous; stir it with a fork and close the pan with a lid.

2 Cook the soy chunks/nuggets as per the package instructions. (In a medium pan add about 4 cups of water and let it boil. Once it boils, switch off the stove, add a teaspoon of salt and the soy chunks and leave it aside for 15 minutes. Then drain the water and squeeze out the excess water from the soy chunks and keep it ready). The soy chunks will be very hot, so pour some cold water and leave it for sometime before squeezing.

3 In a large skillet add the oil. When the oil is hot enough add the cumin seeds and let it crackle.

4 Then add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt. Fry the onions and then add the cut peppers and the seasonings. Also include the soy chunks and sautee it a couple of times.

5 Now depending on the size of the pan you are using add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water to the vegetable mixture and let it cook. The water should be absorbed and the vegetables should also be cooked.

6 Now add the cooked couscous to the vegetables and mix it well.

7 Drizzle few drops of lemon juice, cilantro and mix it once again.

My Notes1 I used soy chunks to substitute the beef in the original recipe. Other protein alternatives can be soy nuggets, chickpeas or even tofu.

2 I have used three color bell peppers because I had it, but you can use just one too.

Sending this couscous recipe to

1. Priya’s AFAM-Bell Peppers. AFAM originally started by Maheswari.

2. Lavi’s IAVW-Moroccan. It’s a Vegan World originally started by Vaishali.

Spinach and Chickpeas Gravy

Madhuram — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:13:54 +0000

This is a very simple side dish for chapathis/naan without lot of spices, yet very flavorful and healthy.

Ingredients:
Oil – 2 tablespoons
Garlic Cloves – 2, minced
Onion, medium size – 1, finely chopped
Salt – as per taste
Curry powder/garam masala – as per taste
Yogurt – 1 cup (I used low fat yogurt)
Milk – 1 cup (I used 2%)
Frozen chopped spinach (10 0z) – 1, thawed
Canned chickpeas (15 oz) – 1, drained and rinsed

Procedure:
1. Heat oil in a skillet.
2. Add the onion, salt and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Now add the curry powder and cook for another 1 minute.
4. Add yogurt, milk, thawed spinach and the drained chickpeas and let it simmer until all the flavors blend together.

My Notes:
1. The dish was nice and creamy. I actually added a mixture of full cream and milk, that definitely gave a richness to the gravy.

2. Be careful while adding salt because the canned chickpeas already has salt in it.

3. Update: I did not make the Naan. It’s the frozen variety we get in US, Deep Brand. Just heat it in the oven for 2 minutes, it’s ready to eat and you get a very nice fluffy naan. I also broil it for another 1-2 minutes to get a crunchy texture. The one in the picture is Garlic Naan and we absolutely love it. It’s so handy while entertaining friends also. But be sure to heat it just before eating and serve it immediately or else it tends to dry.

Dear Ranjeetha of Ranji’s Kitchen Corner has passed me the Nice Matters award. My another friend Divya of Dil Se has passed me the Rocking Girl Blogger Award. Thank you very much Ranji and Divya.

I would like to pass both the awards to my very good friend Dee of Ammalu’s Kitchen.

EgglessCooking.com | Eggless Recipes | Eggless Baking » garam masala powder

Moroccan CousCous

Spinach and Chickpeas Gravy