Hindustan Times
Heat, dust and some light relief
As the great northern summer takes hold of Delhi, a clue to salvation, borrowed from another continent
As I write this, Delhi has been under the spell of the loo, the hot, dry summer wind that blows in from the great, Indian desert in the west. The loo brings with it dust and much despair — if you’re the type who goes crazy from multiple dustings of the house and floor.
Dust doesn’t really bother me too much, but even I’m getting a little irked from the brown pall hanging over the city. It doesn’t seem like a proper loo — the wind is sporadic and the shroud of dust is working like a lid, trapping the day’s hot air. Last night at more than 34 deg C was one of the hottest on record.
So, what do you eat in such conditions? Not much, many people say. Food that isn’t “heaty”, I hear.
Well, ummm. Irksome and debilitating as the loo is, I just don’t feel like eating light and non-heaty food. I feel as hungry as ever.
I have made some concessions though. The wife is a big believer in light, “non-heaty” food, so I try to grill, stir-fry and generally make food that fits her summer mood. And I must admit it is nice to abandon chapattis.
Our current favourite is couscous, which we’ve found is a treasure trove. This North African staple is an incredibly light and healthy food, but because you end up adding so many vegetables, it ends up being very filling, yet nutritious. I’ve written about it before on this blog, but only now am I really feeling comfortable enough to try variations.
Plus, one bowl serves all, and it’s easy to customise for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, as the recipe below indicates.
Cooking in this season leaves me sweaty and dusty, but it is a robust kind of sweat and dust. I rip off my t-shirt, stand around wild eyed in my shorts, and generally feel like I’ve achieved something after a summer meal is ready.
When the kitchen is cleaned, the aftermath of the light meal is swept away with the dust, and hunger shines through the loo, it’s quite wonderful to retreat to the fan under the table with a glass of wine and that sense of satisfaction.
Hot afternoon couscous
(For the non-vegetarian version, add grilled fish or minced meat or crumbled shammi kebabs!)
½ zucchini, cut into slices, then halved
½ large onion, sliced
1 cup of channa (chickpeas), soaked overnight and pressure-cooked
1 large tomato, quartered or smaller
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp red-chilli powder
fresh pepper
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
juice of ½ lime or whole lemon
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
4 large garlic pods crushed, or 1 tsp of garlic paste
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp white-wine vinegar
salt to taste
1 cup couscous
For the stock:
2 carrots diced
1 whole large garlic pod
salt
Boil carrots, garlic and salt in 2-1/2 cups of water until carrots are soft. Remove carrots and set aside.
For the vegetables: In a non-stick pan, gently heat olive oil. Fry onion till transluscent. Add garlic and sauté till it starts becoming golden. If you use garlic paste, sauté for a minute. Add zucchini and sauté for a minute. Add cumin, coriander and red-chilli powder. Make sure spices are fried. Drizzle wine vinegar if it starts to stick. Add tomatoes and cooked chickpeas. Reduce flame to minimum. Add carrots and toss well. Grate nutmeg over vegetables, pour in juice of lime or lemon. Sprinkle pepper and thyme leaves. Toss again. Take off fire.
In a flat dish, pour out cup of couscous. Pour boiling stock over it and let it fluff up. Use a fork to hasten the process. Add a dash of olive oil or butter. Fluff with fork till couscous looks plump and the grains separate.
Pile vegetables atop the couscous. If you wish, pour the leftover stock as well.
Saute the vegetables in light spices and olive oil and ...
pile them on top of the couscous. Photos: Samar Halarnkar
(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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about the ‘loo’ in delhi .. during these times guys avoid drinking alcohol without any other fluids with it , this loo thing can kill you because of dehyration.. a close shave for me once
btw I dont like cooked carrots either
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
June 5th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
i drink almost every day, if it’s too much, i add it to the food. forgot to mention i was drinking wine when i cooked this. added the leftover to the couscous
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Dear Samar,
Very tempting pictures and as usual, an interesting read =))
However, where can I find couscous and what is its Hindi equivalent?
Many thanks…
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
June 5th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
thanks. please see below. couscous is not hard to get in cities
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where can i get couscous and is there an Indian equivalent?
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
June 5th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
hey, you can get couscous at any somewhat upmarket store, you the type that stocks foreign goods. there is an Indian equivalent, used in Uttaranchal, called mandua, or barnyard millet. that neeeds a pressure cooker though
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thankyou.
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this recipe for couscoys is similar to what i do…but i replace couscous with poha (rice flakes)… rest of the ingredients remain the same..its a light lunch/bfast..whicvere way u want it.
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
June 7th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
Poha?? Well, that’s interesting!
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Chinz Reply:
June 7th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
yeah 1 way to make standard poha is to simply fry mustard seeds+peanuts+curry leaves + some salt and mix poha in it..i somehow find it boring to eat honestly!
so what i do is fry some onions(thinly sliced), garlic, add dry peanuts, curry leaves, 1 chopped green chilli, boiled veggies(carrot/peas/beans/capsicum etc), n then chopped tomatoes..coriander/cumin powder,, salt, haldi, cook all of this and then add poha/rice flakes (which has already been soaked in water for 10 mins separately and then drained)…mix well, cover n let it cook in steam on sim gas for 3-4 mins..then switch off the gas..n then before eating…add juice of 1 lemon to the entire dish..
its kinda spciy and nice to eat…also dont add too much of masala else it comes out too strong since rice flakes cant absorb the spice of masalas…
this is kinda better than the usual poha we usually eat..somehow ur recipe sounded similar to me …thats y mentioned it here!
n its healthy n easy to digest in summers as well!
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
June 7th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
as always, great suggestion. by the way, i have been trying your doi machch recipe and it’s emerged wonderfully! I will take this full circle and post photos and the recipe back again on the site
Hey nice read!!
A perfect light and cool recipe to beat this sweltery hot delhi wheather. Thanks for sharring it!!
Suggest something similar for the dinner time too..
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 9:08 am
ok. coming up this week. leaving for market today!
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thanks!
its all urs..i just happnd to try it..n i completely love it for its ease of making and the great taste! will b great to c how it turned out for u..pls do post pics!
n doi maach is defntly not my recipe
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Chinz Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
and 1 more variation to the poha recipe above,,,if u dont like poha…u can replace it with bread..v call it bread poha…everything remains the same..just instead of adding poha in this dish..u can take few brown bread slices, wet ur hands n crush them and then use them as a base…
its best to use leftover bread in this..when ur not in mood for havin normal bread toast!
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Samar,
It seems that you’re fond of couscous as its both light and economical and also, something different.
Couscous is available in many restaurants in the capital today and Mismo in Hotel Janpath is one of the many. They generally serve it with Moroccan Tagines (Couscous is also a staple diet of the moroccans or from a broader view, of the african states. Couscous when served with orange zest on top, releases/adds flavors in the mouth and for that “umm” feeling, people can try anything and thats how they serve it there and so does nigella lawson.
Anyway, very well-written, hope to read some more of your works soon.
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
June 9th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Thanks, I have eaten couscous in quite a few restaurants in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. Just started cooking it at home though. My tagine attempts coming up on the next blog…
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such joy to read ur blog here in San Jose california. always gets me inspired to cook something different.
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
June 9th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
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Hi I just made your recipe tonight. I used 1 cup of dry couscous which made 3 cups of couscous cooked. The vegetables tasted very bland with the recipe as written. I added about 2 teaspoons of tandoori chicken masala plus some salt which finally made it taste all right. It may be that the American zucchinis and onions are larger than the Indian ones, thus necessitating the extra masala. I also added some ghee to the veggies. My siblings all liked this recipe; one said it smelled like Ramen.
I would advise other readers to follow the recipe as written, because u can always add extra spices at the end. Also don’t pour all the broth over the couscous; pour a bit and then taste it. My only suggestion for next time is to put the ingredients in the order they appear in the recipe. Well, thanks for posting this; it made an easy dinner
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Where can i get cous cous in Delhi?? I tried in Bigbazar, but they dont even know this name..
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