Couscous Upma

Couscous is popularly used in Moroccan n Middle Eastern recipes. It is a kind of sooji / Semolina however its cooking method is a little different. I have had couscous many times in restaurants n I liked it. It can be served with any kind of stew, curry, fry, etc....

Last night I prepared couscous upma for the very first time n it turned out scrumptious. So lets get started on Couscous upma.

Serves 4

Category - Breakfast / Dinner

Couscous - 2Cups
Boiling water - 2 1/4 Cups

For the tempering-
Oil - 3tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Hing / Asafetida - 1/8tsp
Split Bengal Gram /  Chana Dal - 1tsp
Spilt urad dal - 1/2tsp
Curry Leaves - 5
Green Chillies - 8 to 10 (Slit in between)
Onion - 1 Medium (Finely chopped)
Capsicum / Green Peppers - 50g (Finely chopped)
Tomato - 1 Large (Finely chopped)
Coriander leaves - For garnishing
Lemon juice to taste
Salt to taste


How to cook Couscous?
The following method is a standard method for cooking couscous for various recipes.
Transfer the above mentioned quantity of Couscous to a large bowl n add the mentioned amount of boiling water to the same n mix. Cover tightly with a plastic wrap / lid n keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes. Check the couscous after 15 minutes, if still a little hard, pour some more boiling water over it n cover for some more time. Thats it now the plain Couscous is ready.

The ready couscous should resemble the texture of your cooked sooji / semolina.

Now lets start with the tempering -
In a wok heat the oil, add the mustard, hing, curry leaves, both the dals, let the dal turn light golden brown, now add the onions n peppers saute for 3 minutes later add the chillies saute again for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes n saute till they are done.

Now add the cooked/ready Couscous to the tempering, turn the flame to very low heat. Add the coriander, lemon n salt to taste, combine well n serve hot.

Couscous Upma