Sufra Dayma:

Vegetable Couscous

By Moushira Abdel-Malek

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Ingredients:

1 small onion (finely chopped)

2-3 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 small hot red chilli (finely chopped)

1 leek (thinly sliced with stems)

2 fennel bulbs (sliced)

2 zucchini (thickly sliced)

1 large red capsicum (chopped)

200 gms chickpeas (boiled and drained)

2 tbsp each: fresh thyme, chopped parsley leaves, snipped chives

1 tsp each : cumin, coriander, turmeric, allspice, pepper

1 1/2 cups stock (bouillons or home-made)

Olive oil + butter

Couscous:

1 cup instant couscous

3/4 cup hot stock

30 gms butter

Place couscous in a bowl. Add butter. Pour in hot stock. Stir once to mix then cover and leave to absorb for 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork to separate grains.

Method:

Heat oil and butter in pan. Add onion, garlic, chilli, leek and fennel. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes until softened. Add zucchini, capsicum, chickpeas and spices. Stir to coat vegetables with spices. Add stock. Cover and simmer until tender. Fold in fresh herbs and serve over a bed of couscous.

Al-Ahram Weekly Online : Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/788/li4.htm