Couscous with Chicken
A North African staple dish. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania have their own versions. The basics are the same. It’s a wonderful dish which is very easy to make. Its served with mainly lamb and chicken along with vegetables which is cooked as stew/curry. Ideally a 2 pot set up is used. The top part works as the steamer and bottom part is where you cook the meat and vegetables. The steam from the stew/curry cooks the couscous as well infuses it with the stew flavor. I don’t have a 2 pot set up so I cooked the couscous separately.
Ingredients -
6 pc chicken thighs 1 x 340 g couscous packet
1 small lemon
3 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp ginger powder
1.5 tsp cumin powder 1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp paprika 1 tsp curry powder
½ tsp garam masala 1 tsp baharat mix
5 tbsp evoo 1 tsp flour
2 tbsp harissa paste 10-12 whole garlic cloves
½ cup diced onion 3 tbsp chopped garlic
½ cup diced carrot ¾ cup diced celery
1 med tomato ½ cup pumpkin chunks (optional)
1 cup canned chickpeas 1 chicken/ vegetable bouillon or ½ cup stock
1 cup diced bell peppers (mixed type)
Knob of butter
Whole chilli and parsley to garnish
Step 1 – Marinating the chicken
Add 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp ginger powder,1.5 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, ½ tsp paprika, 1 tsp baharat mix and juice from 1 medium lemon to chicken thighs and mix well. Cover and marinate for a minimum of 2 hrs to overnight.
Step 2 – Frying the chicken
Bring the chicken out of the fridge 20-30 mins before cooking. Add 1 tsp flour to chicken and mix well .I like doing this step rather than cooking the chicken as a stew because it gives the chicken a nice crust and the flavors from frying the chicken is just too good. We will use the same pan to cook the vegetables too. Heat 3 tbsp evoo on med hi heat and cook the chicken thighs on 2-3 mins/side. I also added 10-12 whole garlic cloves which takes the flavor to a different level. Chicken is just partially cooked. Remove the chicken, garlic and put aside.
Step 3 – Cooking the vegetables
In the same pan add ½ cup diced onion , 3 tbsp chopped garlic and cook for few mins till slightly browned and aromatic. Then add ½ cup diced carrot and ¾ cup diced celery and cook for few minutes. Then cover it and cook for 7-8 mins. Then add 1 med tomato cut into chunks. Give it a few stirs then add 1 tsp curry powder, ½ tsp garam masala, ½ tsp cumin powder, ½ tsp coriander powder and cook for few mins. Then add ½ cup pumpkin cut into chunks. Its optional. I feel the pumpkin adds a wholesome flavor to the overall dish. Then add the canned chickpeas and cook for few minutes. Add ½ cup of water and a cube of chicken/vegetable bouillon. I used the cube because I didn’t have any stock on hand.
Step 4 – Fully cooking the chicken
Now add the partially cooked chicken to the pan. I felt a little bit more salt was required. So added about a tsp more and cover and cook.
Step 5 – Preparing the couscous
In a bowl put 340g couscous. Add a 1 cup of hot water gradually and fluff it with a fork. Couscous will soak in water and gain volume. Add a knob of butter and keep fluffing for a min, then cover and keep aside.
Step 6 – Adding bell peppers and harissa paste
Lets go back to the chicken. Add a cup of diced bell pepper (any will do, but a combination of red and green adds a nice color). Then add harissa paste and mix it in. Then remove the chicken. I should have removed the chicken before then add the pepper and harissa paste. Lol !!
Step 7 – Add couscous to the pan
After removing the chicken add couscous to the pan and mix well and top it with the chicken.
Step 8 – Garnish
I garnished with some whole peppers and fresh parsley. Enjoy !!
