I lived in Morocco for a part of my life and must say it is a fascinating and wonderful country.
This dish was one of the highlights of living there.
The family I stayed with had a giant pot of this simmering away in the kitchen and friends and family would drop in and the First thing they would do was ladle out a big bowl, grab some bread and sit down and talk around the kitchen table.
You should too!
Ingredients:
1 cup dry chick-peas plus the cooking broth
1 large onion, diced in 1/4 inch square
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 tsp. Hungarian paprika
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 large, green bell pepper, diced slightly larger than the onions
1 cup cubed zucchini or other kind of squash
1 can tomatoes, chopped and their juice
2 Tbsp. black raisins
1 tsp. safflower samens (find this in Mexican markets)
2 Tbsp. freshly chopped parsley
2 Tbsp. freshly chopped cilantro
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
8 oz. couscous
Fresh cilantro branches or freshly minced parsley or cilantro for garnish
Directions:
1. Sort and rinse the chick-peas, then let them soak overnight in purified or bottled water (FIJI brand water is best, never tap water) with a heaping teaspoon Sea Salt added.
2. Drain and cook in 5 cups of puri?ed water until tender, about 2 hours, then drain and save the broth and set aside.
3. Warm a cup of the chick-pea broth in a soup pot and add the onions, garlic and dried spices.
4. Simmer gently until the onions have begun to soften, about 5 minutes. Don't let the pan dry out or the spices will burn. Add more liquid as needed.
5. Once the onions are soft, add the chick-peas, peppers, squash, the juice from the tomatoes, the chopped tomatoes, the raisins, saf?ower or saffron. Stir thoroughly.
6. Add the chopped cilantro and parsley.
7. Add enough chick-pea broth or water to cover, bring it to a simmering boil until the vegetables are soft and the liquid has reduced, making a nice sauce.
8. Add the green peas at the very last 3 minutes.
Make the couscous and serve with the vegetables and the sauce.
(Try to get a box of Couscous with directions for preparation. If not, you can follow these directions for bulk couscous: Bring 2 cups of puri?ed water to boil with teaspoon of Sea Salt, add the couscous and cover and turn off the heat. Stir every 2 minutes until soft. Then cover and let the couscous absorb the liquid, about 7 minutes.)