Its the most delightful weather here, with winds, rains and the earthy scent of wet soil and blooming flowers. Most pleasant to the eye and to the soul. It makes me want to put the kettle on, bake scones and muffins, sit down with a Brontë, and harp about the weather saying 'how delightful' with a stiff upper lip and a crisp English accent!
Most of my lunches this week have been salads and soups, experimenting with fresh produce that I buy in the local market and gourmet ingredients that I indulge in every once in a while. Cous cous is a very versatile ingredient. It is not easily available in India yet, but it sure is a nice change for the palate. Best of all, it tastes wonderful with raw vegetables and fresh herbs.
This salad was a very spontaneous one. I just seemed to have everything Mediterranean at home and wanted to go light on lunch. So, I did a salad version of cous cous with some simple Indian raita. Just like the weather outside, it was most pleasant to the eye and to the soul.
Ingredients
Cous cous
200g cous cous, cooked with 400 ml of water
Red and yellow bell peppers, chopped
Fresh mint, chopped
Fresh coriander, chopped
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Boiled and drained chick peas
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of cumin powder
Juice and rind of 1 lime
20 g feta cheese, cubed
Raita
Plain yogurt/curd
Pinch of red chilly powder
Pinch of cumin powder
Pinch of salt
Pinch of sugar
1 chopped green chilly
Fresh coriander to garnish
Method
Place the cous cous in a non-stick pan and add boiling hot water to it. Cover it and set it aside for 15 minutes. The cous cous should have absorbed all the water and should have become plump and cooked.
For the raita, beat the curd in a mixing bowl with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients and chill till serving time.
Place the cous cous with all the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl (except the feta). Mix gently with the tips of your fingers. Spread the feta cubes on top of the salad and set aside. Your salad is now ready.
Hi Devyani,
ReplyDeleteGood to read about you. I sail in the same boat as you. I feel the same way for food and specially baking. I agree baking in our set up is not that easy and l also find, me doing work around for ingredients, equipments and other related things. Now I feel it's an added adventure in our baking.
Shweta
http://tastybakesandzestytales.blogspot.in/