Indo-Moroccan Spiced Chicken & Couscous
Cubed chicken marinated in a blend of greek yoghurt and spices on a bed of 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!