Cous cous with Vegetables

Couscous is a North African dish, usually offered with stewed meat or vegetables. There also are versions of Fish couscous or a very delicate one just with herbs.... This dish is very versatile! Play around and you will find your favourite one.
Today I prepared my couscous with vegetables and spices to create a perfect Arabic taste... 


INGREDIENTS: 
Servings: 4

1 glass instant couscous
1 small eggplant
2-3 small zucchini
2 handful fresh fava beans
1 medium tomato
1 carrot
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
3cm ginger root
fresh parsley
fresh basil
salt 
chilli powder
1.5tbs curcuma
1/3tbs cumin seeds
EVO oil
1 1/3 glass water + 1/4 glass 
 

 
1. Cut eggplants into 1.5-2cm cubes, salt them and let them release their water in a bowl.
Usually it takes about half an hour to have the eggplant quite wet.

2. Slice carrots into wheels or half wheels if the carrot is too thick.
3. Cut zucchini into wheels.
4. Cut onion into 4 parts and then slice it finely.

5. Heat 5-6 tbs of EVO oil in a frying pan with a squeezed garlic cloves and grated ginger.
6. Add 1tbs of curcuma, cumin seeds and stir well. 
7. When you start filling a nice smell, add carrots and onion, cook at a low heat till the onion starts getting transparent.

 8. Squeeze eggplants to remove their water and add them and zucchini to the pan, continue cooking at low heat covered with a lid till they become coloured.
9. You may salt veges now or any time you want, but not at the very end. 

10.  Clean fava beans and remove them from the pods and peel the skin.
Note: Some people don't bother peeling fava beans, I personally don't like it, as I found the skin a bit hard.
11. Add fava beans to the pan and cook for some more minutes. 
Note: You may add 1/4 of water to cook the veges better. 

12. At the end add tomato cut into small cubes, stir the veges well and cook till all of them are completely ready.

13. Chop fresh parsley and basil finely.
14. Mix couscous with chopped herbs and 0.5tbs of curcuma, some chilli to your taste.
15. Boil a bit less than 1.5 glass of water, melt some salt in it, add 1 tbs of oil and pour it over the couscous.
16. Cover the bowl with couscous with a lid and let it sit for 10 minutes.

17. Using a fork stir couscous in order to separate the graines of it.  
Note: The grains of couscous tend to stick one to another during the cooking process so you need to fluff them carefully.

18. Arrange cooked couscous over a presentation dish as a doughnut and add stewed vegetables inside the ring. 

bil-hanā' wa ash-shifā'     بالهنا والشفا