This period (April 8 to 17) is a very special one for Tamil Mauritians as fasting for Cavadee has started. The Sittirai Cavadee is celebrated to honor the God Muruga. As I am not home to participate in the festivities, I wanted to contribute in my own way. This recipe is a delight for vegetarians and a change from the traditional vegetable curries. I adapted it from one of my favorite food blogger (B. Peltre) and made this with an original Mauritian twist.
Enjoy!!
A twist on Couscous and Vegetables
(4 big servings)
You will need:
- About 1/3 cup dry couscous per person, so 1 + 1/3 cup for 4 people
- 2 small zucchinis (courgettes)
- 1 red onion
- 1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
- 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger root
- Olive oil
- 1 Red Bell pepper
- 1 carrot
- Sliced olives
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly chopped
- Water or Vegetable Stock
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri Chili
Steps:
- Preheat your oven at 300 F or 150 C.
- Chop the red bell peppers.
- Grate the ginger.
- Mix the couscous with the ginger and the bell pepper.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Put the couscous in a large ramekin. Set aside.
- Boil the water for the couscous (I usually add as much water as there is couscous) and keep it warm.
- Wash the carrots and the zucchinis (courgettes) and slice them thinly. Season with chopped garlic, Garam Masala, Kashmiri Chili, salt and pepper.
- Slice the red onion thinly.
- Layer them on top of the couscous, upright and close together (zucchini, carrot, onion and repeat)
- Add the thyme, parsley and sliced olives between the layers.
- Pour a dash of olive oil.
- Pour the hot water.
- Place in the oven for about 1 hour 30 mins. Check to make sure it stays moist (add more water if necessary.)
Accompanied by a chatini pomme d'amour (tomato salsa) and a cucumber raita, it is simply delicious!!
Happy Cavadee to all devotees around the world!
careme* - fasting
