Couscous is a North African traditional food and very popular in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt. It is also well-established in the local cuisine of Italy and Middle-East.
Couscous is made by rolling coarse flour until it form small beads, which are then sieved and dried.
Thus, couscous forms a wonderful replacement of rice and pasta.
It has a mild taste, nice texture and requires only soaking in hot water for a few minutes!!
So, lets try out a spicy Moroccan Couscous dish using a few basic pantry ingredients, which can be served alongside meat or fish. But to me, a plate full of spicy tangy couscous is all good to go for lunch :)
Sohini Nandi
Couscous is made by rolling coarse flour until it form small beads, which are then sieved and dried.
Thus, couscous forms a wonderful replacement of rice and pasta.
It has a mild taste, nice texture and requires only soaking in hot water for a few minutes!!
So, lets try out a spicy Moroccan Couscous dish using a few basic pantry ingredients, which can be served alongside meat or fish. But to me, a plate full of spicy tangy couscous is all good to go for lunch :)
Ingredients for 4 Servings:
- 1 cup dry couscous (get on Amazon)
- 1.25 cups water
- 1 zucchini chopped
- 1 medium size carrot chopped
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 1 red bell pepper cut into cubes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 lemon
- 2 sprigs of coriander leaves
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 tsp. black pepper powder
- 1 tsp. cumin/zeera powder
- 1 tsp. coriander/dhania powder
- 1 tsp. cinnamon powder
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric/haldi powder
- 10 gms. raisins
- 10 gms. pomegranate seeds (optional garnishing)
- salt to taste
Method:
In a large cooking pot, boil water.
When the water starts boiling, remove it from heat and add the dried couscous.
Keep it covered for 10 minutes.
Remove the lid and fluff it with the help of a fork.
For the vegetables -
In a pan, heat vegetable oil.
To it, add the chopped onion, grated garlic and fry properly.
Add all the vegetables and cover to cook until they are slightly soft, but still crunchy.
To this, add the spice powders along with salt to taste.
Mix properly.
Squeeze out the juice of half of a lemon and add it to the vegetable mixture.
Finally add the boiled couscous and mix properly to distribute the flavour of spices evenly.
Serve hot on a dish beautifully garnished with raisins, almonds and coriander leaves.
Enjoy the colourful and fragrant dish of couscous, Besseha!
In a pan, heat vegetable oil.
To it, add the chopped onion, grated garlic and fry properly.
Add all the vegetables and cover to cook until they are slightly soft, but still crunchy.
To this, add the spice powders along with salt to taste.
Mix properly.
Squeeze out the juice of half of a lemon and add it to the vegetable mixture.
Finally add the boiled couscous and mix properly to distribute the flavour of spices evenly.
Serve hot on a dish beautifully garnished with raisins, almonds and coriander leaves.
Enjoy the colourful and fragrant dish of couscous, Besseha!
Sohini Nandi
Hello from the Land of Santa Claus!
Professionally I am a Conservation Architect. That means I spend most of my time snooping around dilapidated and haunted buildings. I love the smell of old damp lime washed walls. Sorry to put you off with all the unpleasant details.
Now for the fun facts. I have been living in this extremely cold socialist country (its Finland, for the people who are still guessing!) for a few years. But I was in London doing my second post-graduation (University College London) and working on a few projects for the last 1.5 years.
Being a culture enthusiast, I have travelled far and wide in Europe learning culture and trying the unique local cuisines. Yes, I am a foodie too!
In SpicesnSecrets I will be sharing some of my experiences for similar lost souls in an alien country.
Cheers to life!
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