Couscous Chaat

Couscous chaat...why not?
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Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Servings 4 people
Menu Appetizer
Diet Jain, Vegetarian

Ingredients
  

For the base couscous

  • 1¼ cup water
  • 1 cup Israeli (pearl) couscous
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp neutral cooking oil
  • 1 tsp whole cumin seeds (jeeru)
  • ½ tsp red chili powder (laal marchoo)
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder (hardal powder)

For the couscous salad

  • 1 cup whole moong daal (green), cooked
  • 1 cup kala chana (black), cooked
  • 1½ medium yellow potatoes, boiled and diced
  • 1 tsp chaat masala
  • ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
  • Diced tomatoes, diced onions (may be substituted with diced cucumbers), and nylon sev to garnish (optional)
  • ½ cup plain yogurt (Note: Yogurt may need to be watered down to drizzle.)

For the brown chutney

  • 1 cup apple butter
  • ¾ cup water
  • 2 tsp cumin coriander powder (dhana jeera powder)
  • 1 tsp ground cumin powder (jeera powder)
  • 1 tsp red chili powder (laal marchoo)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp fresh lemon juice

For the green chutney

  • 1 cup coriander leaves
  • ½ cup mint leaves
  • ⅓ cup peanuts
  • 3 green chilis
  • 1 Tbsp whole cumin seeds (jeeru)
  • 1" piece of ginger
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (~1 lemons)
  • water as needed (~¼ cup)

Instructions
 

For the couscous salad

  • Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Toast dry Israeli couscous pearls for 1-2 minutes. Add water and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes (covered). Once all water has been absorbed, turn off stove and gently fluff couscous with a fork. Transfer and cool for at least 15 minutes.
  • Heat cooking oil over low medium heat. Add whole cumin seeds (jeeru) and heat until browned and fragrant. Add red chili (laal marchoo) and turmeric (hardal) powders. Add in couscous and stir until all pearls are well coated. Cook for 1-2 minutes and transfer.
  • Mix couscous, moong daal, chana, potatoes, and chaat masala.
  • Drizzle with brown chutney, green chutney and yogurt. (See below for brown and green chutney recipes.)
  • Top with tomatoes, onions (may be subsituted with cucumbers), nylon sev, and cilantro to taste. (Optional)

For the brown chutney

  • Mix together apple butter, water, cumin coriander powder (dhana jeera powder), ground cumin powder (jeera powder), red chili powder (laal marchoo), salt and lemon juice until very well blended and smooth.

For the green chutney

  • Wash coriander and mint leaves very well. Coarsely chop, moving ~1" from tips of stems.
  • Throw all leaves, peanuts, green chili, cumin seeds, ginger and salt into the blender. Add 2-3 Tbsp. of water and blend. Continue to add water as needed until all ingredients are blended into a smooth paste. Transfer, add lemon juice, and mix well.
Keyword jain, vegetarian

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