In the fridge: random already-chopped salad veggies that are on their last leg. On the shelf: little bag of couscous collecting dust. Enter the “curried couscous salad” from our Peace Corps cookbook. This was a bit of an experiment, but totally worth it.
First, I sauteed the veggies (1 onion, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 green pepper, and some onion/pepper/tomato/carrot mix left over from said salad mix) in the same pot I would be cooking the couscous in, per recommendation of my friend with much more culinary sense than me, the idea being that the flavors would remain in the pot and be absorbed into the couscous. After they were sauteed, I moved them to the side to wait.
Then I added the water in an amount equal to the couscous (about 1 and 1/3 c) to the pot and brought it to a boil along with the spices (1 tbsp curry powder, 1 tsp piri piri–Mozambican hot pepper, like chilli, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and 2 tbsp sugar) and then added the couscous. This combination of spices was awesome!
The 1:1 ratio for the water was definitely NOT accurate. Once the water was all dried the couscous was still extremely chewy, so I kept adding water little by little until it seemed right… was probably more like 2 to 1.
When the couscous was almost done, I reheated the veggies in the frying pan along with 1/4c raisins and 1tsp basil. Then mixed it all together.
This combination of spicy with a hint of sweet was just perfect. If I made it again, I would try to also include zucchini, eggplant, cucumber, more carrots, and anything else I could get my hands on. I want to try this spice combo on something else too. Ideas?
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