Warm Roasted Vegetables Couscous salad

Couscous salad is very popular for all day meal. It is part of the staple diet in most African countries…however there are many modern variations done to couscous. It is part of many health diet plans as well. It is definitely a feeling and guilt free food so I do not want to challenge it. I love it with loads of vegetables and herbs. It is good meal to munch on in between.

Ingredients
200 gms Couscous
300 ml water (hot)
1 tbsp fresh mint chopped
1 tbsp fresh basil chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 bell pepper (green/ yellow /red)
1 zucchini 
1 aubergine 
1 onion
1 tomato

Olive oil 
1 tspn allspice powder
1 tspn cumin seeds powder
1 tspn coriander seeds powder
black crushed pepper
Salt to taste
Method
1) In a large bowl, add the couscous . Pour the boiling hot water, stir, drain off the excess and cover the bowl with a lid and set aside for 10-15 min
2) Rub olive oil to vegetables and sprinkle some salt. Let them stand. Now you can either grill them or roast them on direct flame or bake them in pre-heated oven at 200c for 5-10 min. Once done, remove the charred skin if any and chop to small bits.
3) Fluff the couscous using a fork, add the roasted veggies, chopped mint, basil, spices and liberal amount of Olive oil.
4) Add lemon juice in the end and mix well.
5) Serve this while the veggies are still warm. 

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Vegetables Stuffed with Couscous

My mum once told me about stuffed tomatoes when I was a kid. She had tried it at her friends place, and said it was probably a bad idea as most tomatoes went untouched…she said there was no fun to have mushy rice in raw tomato. Ofcourse we both knew that there would have been some mistake on the cook’s part while making the dish but first impressions stick hard on your mind, isnt it….so together for years we never agreed to taste this dish wherever or whenever.

Gradually, I came around to the idea of stuffing vegetables starting with other vegetables like potatoes or coconut based filling moving on to paneer then cheese and then soy crumbs and then biryani…I liked it a little more than the earlier experience each time.

I wanted to make 3-4 couscous based recipes this week under the moroccan theme, but with me I end up cooking all 5 days worth on the same day, so I had to do a mix bag to ensure there is a complete meal on the table – like most Indians prefer, a bread , a veggie, rice and a gravy, a side dish to munch in between and cool drink to wash down….so this recipe sat somewhere in between the menu courses….

Ingredients
vegetables – pepper, tomatoes, zucchini, aubergine ( should have firm exterior )
for stuffing
200gm Couscous
300 ml water
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tspn cumin seeds powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tspn red chilli powder
salt to taste

Olive Oil -3-4 tbsp

Method
1) Prepare the couscous stuffing first, boil 300ml of water. Add this to the cousous in a large bowl. Drain off any excess and cover it with a lid on and let it stand for 10 min
2) Add to the couscous  the rest of the stuffing mixture. Add some olive oil on top and give a good stir
3) Take the vegetables and cut off their lids. You can roast them and use them in the stuffing or for some other dish. I would not suggest adding to the stuffing for better taste
4) Scoop out the seeds on core using a spoon.
5) Add some olive oil and season the inside of the scooped vegetables and let it sit for 5-10 min to marinate.
6) Fill the stuffing in the vegetables. brush more oil on the vegetables.
7) Now bake them in preheated oven at 200 C for 10-15 min. Keep a close watch

Serve this along with tagine or any gravy dish you like. It works great as a full meal as well

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Urban Spiced Carrots Moroccan way

So in the final leg, we are back to where we started off – Africa but doing a cuisine which is hugely popular from this part of the world..The Moorish or Moroccan cuisine. 

Extremely easy yet classic recipe to be used as side dish or starters or as nibbles. You can munch on these warm or cold, it is a clear winner all through.

So before we move to the recipe, last year, I visited the North African chain in germany a couple of times and have been stuck on to their food ever since. I experimented recipes beyond the couscous and tagines. 

So this particular recipe was something I tasted there and doing some research I found that it is not very traditional recipe…there are variations using different forms or carrots or carrots mixed with other vegetables which is available in popular moroccan joints. 

Ingredients
250 gms of baby carrots/ you can also use chunks of juicy red carrots 
1 tspn red paprika
1 tspn all spice powder (add more if you like, I did)
1 tspn black pepper crushed
1 tspn coriander powder
1/2 tspn cumin seeds powder
Olive oil
salt to taste

Method
1) Bring a pot of water and add the carrots – you may peel the carrots before doing so – I always do
2) Let the carrots cook with lid on for 4-5 min.
3) Drain and set aside
4) In a pan heat some olive oil and add the coriander and cumin seeds powder, toss until the flavors are sharp 
5) Add the carrots and toss them well, add the rest of the ingredients and coat the carrots well.
6) Leave this pan, if oven safe then directly into a preheated oven at 200c for 3-4 min or until there is a crispy crunch on the top. Alternatively set this in a baking sheet
7) Serve hot with a tomato salsa or dip of your choice. 

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Hot Sauce / Pili pili sauce

Hot sauces are very common in african sub continent. While the sauces are translated literally to be hot or spicy they do have a volcano of flavors….hot ofourse, but also earthy, sweet and hint of sourness.

The hot sauce I am sharing with you all is actually made using the green bell peppers along with red chilli peppers.

I adapted the recipe from here. 

Ingredients
3-4 fresh red chillies
1 big green bell pepper finely chopped
1 small clove of garlic
1 cup tomato finely chopped
1 tbsp vinegar
1/2 tspn sugar
salt to taste
Method
1) Chop the red chillies and deseed them if you like. Add all the other ingredients  and blend it to a fine paste.
2) In a put this paste and let it cook until reduced to sauce like consistency.
3) Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Use this as a dip or on table top to serve with chips, vegetable sticks, wraps or sandwiches.

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Green Stir fry – kenyan style/ Sukuma Wiki/ Green Collards stir fry

Green vegetables stir fried are the best way to be enjoyed. I have been growing spinach in my kitchen garden for 6 months now. It is always a happy feeling to pluck the baby green leaves which are tender juicy and much more tastier than the ones from bought from market.

In maharashtra this is exactly the same way we make green leafy stir fries…

So on the 8th day of our mega marathon, making a simple stir fry recipe from kenya which is made with simple vegetables and seasoning. Served with Ugali popularly for breakfast…

Ingredients

1 bunch of green collards/ spinach

1 onion finely chopped

 1 tomato finely chopped

1 tspn turmeric powder

1 tspn cumin seeds

1 tspn black pepper powder

salt to taste

oil to cook

Method

1) In a wok/ kadhai heat the oil, add the cumin seeds, and the onion and saute

2) Add the tomatoes and spinach leaves roughly chopped along with salt , pepper.

3) Cook until the leaves are wilted

4) When done, serve with corn bread, ugali or simple bread or rice dish.

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Fresh Kachumbari/ Green Kachumbari

We make fresh salad using cucumber, tomatoes, onions chopped and mixed with curd, some times tempered garnished with crushed peanuts, corainder, chillies …Finding a similar recipe felt nice. 

My biggest worry about attempting new cuisines is that I end up finding my trouble spots….in what appears to be a simple dish below, I was worried about avocado. The avocado has always ditched me….I always struggle to find the right time to cut it open.

This time around, I purchased this fruit a day ahead of when I wanted to make the kachumbari. Mentally preparing my self to discard 100Rs in the bin and at max use the raw or mushy inside only for the pictures. However, I was a tad luckier than I had expected to be….the avocado was nice and smooth like butter, a bit mushy with all the transport woes …across countries I presume…

Ingredients
1 tomato chopped in wedges
1 cucumber peeled and cut in roundels
1 onion sliced 
1 fresh avocado – scooped and pulped
1 tspn lemon juice
2 tbsp Olive oil
salt to taste
Fresh herbs – basil, coriander, mint

Ingredients
1) Create a bed of the avocado pulp on the serving dish
2) Mix the vegetables in a bowl, add the olive oil, lemon juice and salt.
3) Serve the mixed vegetables on the avocado, garnish with fresh herbsa

Ingredients

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East African Beverage/ Kenyan Chai/ East African Tea

Did I take an easy route out? Well yes!
But then have I ever posted the masala chai ? No !!
Is this recipe same as Indian masala chai? Not really!!!
What’s different? – the masalas…

Well, across africa tea is a very popular beverage…but from what I read about Kenya….they love their tea with plenty of spices…this recipe is popular across all the countries in East Africa and apparently called as east african chai.

So here is it to my favorite companion through nights and day, helping me keep up my energy levels and brain functions in place..Chai!

Ingredients
3 cups water
2 cups milk
3 tspn tea leaves – of your choice
6 tspn sugar (or as per taste)
1 stick of cinnamon
2-3 cardamom
1-2 cloves
3-4 black pepper
1 inch of fresh ginger – peeled
Method
1) Combine all ingredients together and bring to a boil. Reduce flame and let it stand for some more time
2) Strain and serve hot..

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Doughnuts African Style/ Kenyan Dough nuts/ Coconut Doughnuts – Mahamri

These are different from the word go….they are not round and do not have any piece missing from their bodies…what they do have in abundance is flavor. 

This is made of wholewheat flour, the goodness of coconut and are yet bread like. they crisp on the outside, soft in the middle and have crunchy bites of coconut. The cardamom and coconut makes it aromatic and flavorful. 

So as part of our journey through the cuisines we are taking a short stop for a sweet bite…you can find the original source of this recipe here…

Ingredients
3 cups Whole wheat flour
8 tbsp demerara sugar
1 cup coconut milk
1 tspn cardamom powder
1 tspn ghee
1 tspn instant dry active yeast
a pinch of salt
Oil for deep frying

Method
1) In a large basin, mix the flour with cardamom powder, ghee, salt and sugar.
2) Add the yeast and coconut milk and knead to make a semi stiff dough.
3) Cover and set aside for an hour or until it doubles
4) Heat the oil in a pan to medium hot temperature
5) Pinch small balls of lemon size.
6) Roll it out to a flat puri, cut it into 4 quarters and set them apart until you finish with the rest of the dough
7) Start frying the doughnuts a few at a time until golden brown in color
8) Drain and store in an air tight box after it cools down.

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Chips Masala/ Kenyan Street food/ Potato sticks in spicy gravy

I said this before there is so much Indian influence on this cuisine that the week went by like a breeze. I had multiple options  for this alphabet but the only issue was it did not fit into the day’s menu when I cooked the meal for other Kenyan recipes.

I made this on another day as an evening snack.

For late joiners, we are running a blogging marathon for a month on the theme of journey through the cuisines….

Ingredients
2 cups Potato Chips
for masala
1 onion finely chopped
2 tomatoes finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste or puree
1 inch ginger – made into a paste
1 tspn garlic paste
1 tspn garam masala
1 tspn whole garam masala (cinnamon, cloves, black pepper) in a muslin cloth
1 tspn red chilly powder
1 tspn coriander and cumin powder
1 tspn lemon juice
salt to taste
Oil to cook


Method
1) Heat some oil in a pan to make the masala. Add the onions, followed by ginger garlic paste, whole garam masala and saute until onions are pale
2) Add the tomatoes and saute them. Then add the puree, and all the spice powders and salt. Cook it until it thickens.
3) Add the lemon juice and set it aside.
4)  When this cools down, blend this using a hand blender to make a smooth gravy – this is optional.
5) Add the potato chips/ fries to the gravy to quickly cover them with the gravy. 

this may make the fries /chips a little mushy but thats the beauty of this dish too….

I served it with a dip – you will get the recipe soon 😉…..until then feel free to combine it with sauce of your choice 

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Biriani/ Kenyan Biryani/ East African Rice

Venturing out to a new zone always needs an anchor in the form of some known or comfort tool. For me amongst food, Rice is one such anchor or comfort ingredient for me. Pairing any amount of side dishes with one good rice dish works for my family. 

Coming back to the theme, you do know we are on an exotic journey through the cuisines. And I have gone all the way upto Africa…

Swahili is the most popular language spoken in this continent. The food world is shrinking in size with all the cultures , colours and races merging in to one… I really hope that just like food, eventually all religions and races fuse up being one – human

The food in kenya exhibits the influence of India, Middle east and Asian flavors to a large extent. While the origin of Biryani is itself debatable, but back in Kenya this is attributed to the Indian ancestry.

It is nothing like the biryani we eat – neither the lucknowi nor the hyderabadi…it is not even layered but there is something about this that makes you associate with the biryani.

Go figure that out by trying this recipe….

Ingredients

2 cups Basmati Long Grained Rice (washed and drained)
1 cup mix par boiled vegetables (potato, beans, green peas, cauliflower)
1/2 cup paneer cubes (optional)
1 onion finely chopped
2 tomatoes finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tbsp curd
1 tspn red chilli powder
1 tspn turmeric powder
1/2 tspn black pepper powder
1 tspn garam masala
1 stick cinnamon stick
2-3 cloves
2-3 whole green cardamom
1 tspn ginger paste
1 tspn garlic paste
1 pinch of saffron/ kesar
1 tbsp milk
2 tbsp butter/ ghee
salt to taste
Oil to cook
for garnish
pineapple
tomato
hard boiled egg
lemon

Method
1) Cook rice with 4 cups water with some salt and 1 cardamom. Add the juice of lemon or curd about 1 tspn while cooking to get long grains
2) In another pan , heat some oil. Add the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom. Then add the ginger garlic paste. Saute it for half a min
3) Add the onions and let it cook only till it turns pale – do not caramelise it
4) Next add the chopped tomatoes and saute it for 4-5 min. 
5) Add the dry powders, red chilly turmeric, garam masala,black pepper at this stage to aide faster water evaporation.
6) Now add the tomato puree and let it reduce down
7) Add the tomato sauce and vegetables. Add some water and cover it until vegetables are cooked
8) Add the ghee, curd and salt at this stage and let it cook until desired gravy consistency. I prefer it to be thicker.
9) When the rice is cooked, mix a part of it with saffron soaked in hot milk. Then using 
a fork mix it with the rest of the rice.Add some more ghee to the rice for extra aroma
10) Serve the rice with the gravy and garnish with pineapple, tomato, egg and lemon.






































We loved this biriani as mentioed earlier….it is something that will be made often at my home…

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