I’m not a big Turkey fan, something to do with an unpleasant aftertaste every time I eat it. Hence I normally cook Chicken instead of Turkey during Thanksgiving.This time I’m inspired to give it an exotic Indian touch,something I haven’t done before.Yet I don’t want to spend the entire day cooking in the kitchen, instead, enjoy the Holidays with my family.That said, food still has to be top-notch.So I came up with idea of keeping it simple yet elegant at the same time, sort of “East meets West”.
I am making Indian style Spicy Couscous with Cranberries,Raisins and Slivered Almonds served with Indian Spiced Roast Chicken.Sounds tempting?Wait till you try it.The combination of sweet with the spicy gets your tastebuds dancing.You don’t have to wait for Thanksgiving to make these dishes. You can make them any time of the year.You can also serve the chicken as an appetizer with some chutney, or you can use it on a bed of rice with salad as your weekday or weekend meal.Enjoy!
Spicy Couscous with Cranberries,Raisins and Slivered Almonds/Indian Spiced Roast Chicken
Ingredients
For the Spicy Couscous
- Couscous- 2 cups
- Water- 2 cups
- Oil-2 tbsp
- 1 medium Onion- chopped finely
- 3 Green Chillies Jalapeños-chopped finely
- Black Mustard seeds-1 tsp
- Curry Leaves available in Indian stores- 3
- Sweetened Cranberries- 1 cup
- Raisins-1/4 cup
- Slivered Almonds- for garnish
- Salt-to taste
For Indian Spiced Roast Chicken
- Drumsticks and Thighs-8 pieces
- Oil-1 tbsp
- Salt-to taste
For the Green paste
- Coriander leaves chopped-3-4 cups
- Ginger-1 inch chopped
- Garlic-4 cloves
- Turmeric-1 tsp
- Ground Coriander-2 tsp
- Ground Cumin-1 tsp
- Red Chili powder or Cayenne pepper-1 tsp
Instructions
Spicy Couscous:
- Boil 2 cups of water with some salt.Once it starts to boil add 2 cups of couscous.
- Turn off the heat and cover the pan.Leave it for 2 minutes.Your couscous is cooked.
- Gently stir it with a fork.Keep aside.
- In a skillet, heat oil and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves
- Once it splutters add the onions and green chilies. Saute until onions are light brown.
- Mix into the couscous along with cranberries and raisins.Garnish with slivered almonds.
Indian Spiced Roast Chicken
- Start by preheating the oven to 420 degrees F.
- Make the green paste using all the ingredients above.Once the paste is ready,place the chicken along with oil,salt and green paste into a ziplock bag.Seal firmly and mix the contents together.Leave it in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours.
- Place the marinaded chicken pieces on an aluminum foil on top of a baking sheet.Bake for about 40-45 minutes, turning the chicken once so that both sides are golden brown.
- Once ready, let it rest for a little while before serving.
Thanks, the green sauce is very verstile and can be used in many other creations as well!
LOVE the green sauce!
Thanks for the comment!
Well thanks for a different take on Thanksgiving turkey, which we don’t care for. I usually do a ham and a chicken. Will be nice to try something completely different, thanks.
Thanks for stopping by :)Yeah very nice textures come together..
That couscous looks amazing! I actually bought some wild rice to make a very similar dish. Dried fruit and toasted nuts with grains…yum!