Moroccan-Style Chicken & Couscous Recipe
Fusion food is one of my favorite cuisines to explore! There’s nothing better than combining the best of two or more cultures and creating a delicious work of art. Since summer is fast approaching, I tend to go for refreshing and tangy alternatives to the usual fiery curries.
My mouth-watering Moroccan-style chicken and couscous recipe blends iconic spices from India and Morocco and is light enough to be a weekly rotation in your summer diet.
This recipe uses three spices that really enhance its flavour: red chilly powder, cumin powder and sumac. You may be familiar with the first two, but have you heard of Sumac before?
Sumac is a lemony spice that comes from a flowering plant. It is widely used throughout the Middle East and I began using it in many of my chicken dishes as a teenager. A little sprinkle of this in the Moroccan-style chicken and couscous recipe will really give it that extra kick.
The toppings for the couscous salad are pretty much interchangeable. I find that red onion adds some much needed heat while the cucumber is refreshing and cooling. Feel free to add bell peppers, cherry tomatoes or even some sautéd mushrooms, fresh cilantro or lime juice!
Indo-Moroccan Spiced Chicken & Couscous
Ingredients
- 2 medium chicken breasts
- 6 tbsp plain non-fat greek yoghurt
- 1 lemon
- 1 tsp red chilly powder (or smoked paprika)
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp sumac
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1½ cups whole wheat instant couscous
- 2-3 Persian cucumbers (or half a regular cucumber)
- ½ red onion
- 1 tbsp sunflower/vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp low-fat mayo
- ½ tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2¼ cups water (boiling)
- ½ tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 2 green chillies
Instructions
- Wash the chicken breast and cut into bitesize cubes. Set aside in a bowl.
- Add 3 tbsp of the yoghurt, freshly chopped garlic, red chilly powder (or smoked paprika), cumin powder, sumac, salt and pepper.
- Squeeze half a lemon into the bowl as well and mix throughly until each cube of chicken is marinated.
- Cover with some cling film and leave to marinate for 25 mins. (You may even do this the day before and leave in the fridge overnight)
- While the chicken is marinating, place the uncooked couscous into a separate bowl and add the boiling water to hydrate it.
- Cover with a lid/plate and leave for 5 minutes or until the couscous is fluffy and cooked.
- In the meantime, finely chop the red onion, green chillies as well as the cucumbers (scoop out the seeds with a spoon to avoid a watery final product) into little pieces.
- Once the couscous is cooked, fluff up with a fork and add the onions, green chillies and cucumbers. Mix carefully.
- Now add salt and pepper and taste to see if you need to temper the seasonings.
- Pour oil into a shallow frying pan on high heat.
- Once the pan is hot, carefully add in the marinated chicken cubes and spread out to ensure they brown nicely.
- Though chicken cooks very quickly, fry on high for 5-7 minutes or until the outside is a golden brown color.
- Drain any excess oil once the chicken is cooked through, using a paper towel.
- Now prepare the dressing by combing the rest of the yoghurt, mayo, the juice from half a lemon, garlic powder, salt, pepper and dried parsley. Mix well and if the dressing is too thick, add water, teaspoon by teaspoon until the dressing reaches a pourable consistency.
- Now all three components are ready, you can plate! Spoon out the couscous on a dish and place the chicken cubes next to or on top of it. Drizzle over the dressing and you may even add some chilly sauce for that extra kick!
- Enjoy!
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