Couscous and Lentil Dosa with Tomato Coconut Chutney

Internet is such a boon for mankind. If you have it on your mind, you can find it on the internet. Anything and everything. You name it and you have it. My couscous was just not getting over even after experinenting with couscous pizza, couscous pudding, salads, and what not. Problem is the grain swells up so much after soaking that you just cannot use a lot of it in one go. Today, however, I finally finished it with this wonderful dosa recipe from a website called Samayalarai I found on the net. The recipe is quite simple and uses a good bunch of lentils which makes this dosa a super healthy option from the regular ones. Also, it requires just a few hours of soaking which is better for people like me who always forget to soak it overnight! Serve it with some yummy tomato coconut chutney and some sambhar or masala potatoes and you have a wonderful meal to be served!

                                   

Ingredients

2 cups raw rice

1 1/2 cup couscous

1/2 cup moong dal

1/4 cup chana dal

1/4 cup toor dal

1/4 cup urad dal

1 tbsp fenugreek seeds

1/2 cup rice flour

Salt as per taste

Tomato Coconut Chutney

2 medium onions chopped

3 medium tomatoes chopped

1/3 cup grated coconut

1 sprig curry leaves

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 dry red chilli

1 tsp sambhar powder

1 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

1 tbsp oil

Direction

Wash and soak the rice, dals, and fenugreek seeds separately for 4-5 hours. 

Soak the couscous in 1 1/4 cup hot water for 10 minutes. Put all the soaked ingredients in a grinder with little water and make a fine paste just like you do for your dosa batter. 

Add the rice flour and salt and mix well till no lumps remain.

Heat the griddle and lightly grease it. Pour a spoonful of the batter and spread it out with the back of the spoon like you do for regular dosas. Once it browns on one side, flip and cook on the other side till slightly browned. Serve hot!

                                           

Tomato Coconut Chutney

Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds and dry red chilli. Add the curry leaves. Now add the chopped onions and fry till translucent. Add the tomatoes, grated coconut, spices, and salt and mix well. Cover and cook till tender. Remove from heat and let it cool. Grind to a smooth paste and serve.

                                          

Egyptian Dessert with Couscous

I know you must be wondering what is wrong with me to keep posting recipes with couscous. The fact is, there are a few new ingredients I have recently come across and I really want to experiment with those. However, knowing myself, I know that once I buy those set of ingredients, I am sure to ignore this jar of couscous for another couple of months until maybe it gets spoilt. That would definitely not make me a good homemaker! Besides, I have no space in my pantry for any new jar and so I want to get done with the couscous and happily refill the jar with something equally interesting. After yesterday's superhit Couscous Pizza, I spent some time in the night looking for more variations and was quite happy to fish this super easy recipe popular in Egypt. I reduced the recipe to 1/4th as I wasn't too sure about the taste, which was pleasantly different and refreshing. Also, it is low on calories and so even more reason to eat and be happy!

                                         

Ingredients

1/4 cup couscous

1/2 cup fruit juice (I used orange juice)

2 tsp butter

2 tbsp almond pistachio meal (take a handful of almonds and pistachios and grind them. You can either remove the skin of the almonds or keep it)

2-3 tbsp crushed candied/roasted almonds

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cinammon sugar for sprinkling

Direction

Bring the fruit juice to a boil and switch off the gas. Now add the couscous and mix. Let it stand for 10 minutes. Now fork the couscous and stir in the melted butter. Mix well. Add the almond pistachio meal and mix again. Lastly add the brown sugar and mix. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar. Top it with the crushed almonds and chill until served.

                                       

Flourless Healthy Pizza

First of all, a big sorry to my friends from India who may not find the key ingredient of this recipe in their nearby stores. People living in metros, however, do stand a chance of finding it in speciality stores or in the international section of big supermarkets. Today's experiment in the kitchen, after all the high calorie cooking in the recent weeks, is with a form of wheat called  "couscous" which is derived from Durum Wheat and is quite similar to Semolina in texture. You can call it an intermediate between rice and pasta. Couscous is a powerhouse of essential nutrients, the most important being lean protein and dietary fiber and a host of vitamins including vitamin B. It is a very good source of protein for my vegetarian friends and also a healthy diet option for the weight watchers. To know more about the health benefits of couscous, you can ask our trusted friend google for more advanced information.

Coming back to the recipe, I basically had a big jar of couscous lying in the pantry and since I am not a big fan of it I wasn 't giving it much importance as well. However, now my pantry is almost out of stock with every legumes and lentils and so this neglected jar of couscous finally found its place in my menu. I wasn't too sure how it will be accepted by my family, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that they enjoyed the new taste and variety in the regular pizza. It not only tasted yummy, but also offered a unique variation coupled with the regular pizza toppings. All in all, it was a very satisfying meal and feeling happy and relaxed by presenting something healthy for the family to eat. 

                                        

Ingredients

For the couscous

1 cup couscous

1/2 cup hot water

1 tbsp olive oil

Other ingredients

1/3 cup assorted veggies (I used diced carrots, peas, and corn)

2 eggs

Herbs of your choice (I used oregano and basil)

A handful of fresh parsley

1 tbsp olive oil, divided

Salt and pepper to taste

For the topping

2-3 tbsp pizza sauce

1/3 cup sliced mushrooms lightly sauteed in olive oil till the water content dries up

Sliced olives (use as per liking)

Grated cheese

Direction

In a bowl, place the boiling water and add the dry couscous. Nicely mix and keep covered for 10 minutes. Fork well and add 1 tbsp olive oil. 

Blanch the assorted veggies till soft. In a bowl, beat the eggs and half of the olive oil and whip till smooth. Add the couscous, salt, herbs, pepper powder, parsley, and the blanched veggies and mix well. At this point, I transferred the contents into a blender and pulsed a few times to get the mixture together and mash the big chunks. You can also do this with a potato masher. 

Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree celsius. Line a pizza tray or pie dish with parchment paper and transfer the couscous base onto it. Press it down with a spatula and spread it evenly on all sides. Drizzle the remaining olive oil on top and sprinkle some additional pepper powder. 

                                         

Bake in the pre heated oven for 20-25 minutes until the top starts slightly browning and feels little firm. Remove from oven and spread the pizza sauce and arrange the toppings. Garnish with cheese as per your choice and liking and bake it again for 10 minutes until the cheese starts melting and the toppings brown. Serve hot!