Dinner whipped up in under 15 minutes. Quick, yet filling..

After a long hectic day, who wouldn’t want to see dinner ready on the dining table. The only thing we have to do is just enjoy the food and worry about nothing else. I don’t know how many times I would have longed for the same. These are the moments when I wished my mom was with me, I can’t stop appreciating her for not failing for even a single day and having not just dinner, but all meals ready on the dining table, even before we get hungry.

Yesterday, was a real hectic day for me and I felt super lazy to cook. It’s no big deal for me if I get lazy to cook, the least thing I have to do is just pick up the phone and dial the number of any nearby restaurants. But yesterday, I didn’t feel like eating outside, as I had been eating outside continuously for the last few days. More than getting sick from eating restaurant food continuously, I am quite concerned about getting the next size jeans during my next shopping A Big No to that………..

I moved to a new place and right now I can only think about making quick and easy meals. As soon as the idea of making dinner in under 15 minutes struck my brain, I found my hands and legs moving towards the small, yet fancy kitchen in my suite. I whipped up the dinner with whatever I had in my pantry and refrigerator. Here is a quick fix dinner you could make after a long day or when you feel like not hitting the restaurant and when wanting for a homemade dinner. On these days Couscous, Pasta, Noodles and Salad comes to rescue me, it’s hard to find my pantry without these piled up.

Couscous with Scrambled eggs:

Serves 4 people

Ingredients:

• Couscous- 1 1/4 cups
• Onion chopped- 2
• Chicken stock or veggie stock- 1 cup
• Canned Chick peas- 1 can, drained and rinsed
• Pepper powder- 2 tsp
• Eggs- 2
• Green pepper, chopped- 1
• Salt- a pinch
• Extra virgin Olive oil- 2 tsp
• Cilantro or parsley leaves chopped- 2 tbsp

Preparation:

• In a deep bottomed pan, add 1 tsp oil, add 1 onion chopped and saute.
• Add chick peas to this and saute for another 2 minutes.
• Add 1 tsp pepper powder and add chicken stock.
• When the chicken stock starts to boil, remove the pan from the flame and sprinkle 11/4 cups of couscous into the chicken stock while stirring gently.
• Cover and let rise for 2 minutes( all the water should be absorbed by the couscous).
• In the meantime,break 2 eggs into a bowl and whisk it with pepper powder, salt and keep it aside.
• In a skillet, add the remaining 1 tsp oil, add 1 onion chopped and saute.
• Add green pepper chopped to this and saute for 2 minutes.
• Add the eggs to this and scramble it, and stir fry it for a minute or so until cooked.
• Add the scrambled, cooked eggs to the covered couscous and give it a mix.
• Garnish with Cilantro or parsley leaves.

Tips:

• You could serve this on a lettuce leaves to give it a fancy look.
• For vegetarians: use veggie stock, add more veggies of your choice along with the chick peas and you could even skip eggs.
• Serve with Baked Sweet potato fries, for recipe: http://thasneen.com/cooking/baked-sweet-potato-fries/

Being a hard-core non-veg, my freezer is always stacked with meat and other meat products. Surprisingly, today I found my refrigerator to be empty; there was neither any meat nor any veggies. And I really wanted to make something fried. Finally, my eyes caught on a can of chickpeas sitting at the corner on the counter top. First thing that flashed through my mind is Falafel, a very popular Middle Eastern appetizer. I always order Falafel whenever I go to Middle Eastern restaurant. Since I was looking for fried snack, Falafel was the right one to make. The best thing about making Falafel is that, it only calls for easily available ingredients and it could be made in no time.

Ingredients:

• Chick peas( cooked)- 15 ounce can
• Onion finely chopped-1
• Garlic minced-1 tsp
• Parsley chopped- 3tsp
• Cumin powder-1tsp
• Coriander powder-1tsp
• Pepper powder-1tsp
• All purpose flour-3tbsp
• salt- as required
• Oil- for frying

Preparation:

• Pat dry the canned chick peas. If you don’t have canned chick peas, boil dried chick peas with water in  pressure-cooker until it is well cooked.
• Combine the chick peas with all the other ingredients.
• Mash the chick peas with a wooden fork or you could even combine in a food processor and make into a coarse thick paste.
• Make the mixture into small round balls and flatten it in between the palm of your hands.
• Deep fry it in oil, until golden brown.
• Serve hot with Hummus or Tahini sauce. If you don’t have any of these, serve with Tomato ketchup.

If you love Mediterranean cuisine, then this dish is a must try. This dish made with raisins, olives, apricots and flavored with chicken stock makes this delicious and nutritious. The chicken gets the sweet flavor from the raisins and the apricots, tangy flavor from the olives and lemon, which would really make your taste buds go wild. This being my favorite, I could go on talking about this. I served this with Couscous, which made this a complete meal. Couscous, coarsely ground semolina pasta could be flavored in several ways and it is prepared in no matter of time.

Mediterranean Chicken Ingredients:

• Chicken boneless thighs/breast- 1 pound
• Olive oil- 2tsp
• Onions diced-1
• Carrots diced-1
• Garlic minced-1tsp
• Bay leaf( dried or fresh)-1
• Pepper powder-2tsp
• Smoked paprika-1tsp
• Cumin powder-1tsp
• Coriander powder-1tsp
• Cinnamon powder-1/4 tsp
• Olives diced-1cup
• Apricots diced-1cup
• Raisins- 1/4 cup
• Chicken stock-1 cup
• Lemon zest-of 1 lemon
• Lemon juice-from 1/2 lemon
• Salt- to taste

Preparation:

• Heat a deep bottomed skillet.
• Add olive oil , put the chicken and season it with pepper powder and salt. Cook until it turns light brown.
• Add garlic, onion, carrot, bay leaf and let the veggies become tender.
• Now add the seasonings, smoked paprika, cumin powder, coriander powder and cinnamon powder.
• Give it a quick stir and add olives, apricots and raisins along with the chicken stock.
• Let the chicken stock come to a boil. Sprinkle the lemon zest.
• Cook until the gravy thickens.
• Finish it with lemon juice.

Couscous Ingredients:

• Couscous- 1cup
• Carrot finely diced-1
• Green pepper finely diced-1/2
• Green peas frozen-1/4 cup
• Spinach-2 handful
• Chicken stock-1cup
• Butter-2tbsp
• Cilantro chopped- 1 handful

Preparation:

• Melt the butter in a dutch oven.
• Add all the veggies and cook till it turns tender.
• Add the chicken stock and let it come to a boil.
• Add the couscous and remove the pot from the flame, immediately cover it with a lid without stirring and let it rest for 3 to 5 minutes.
• After 5 minutes, open the lid and stir with a fork and Sprinkle the cilantro.

Now get ready to plate this complete meal. For a more appealing look, plate the couscous made in the shape of a dome on a plate and pour the chicken around the couscous.

Tips:

How to make the dome shape:

Place the couscous on a soup bowl and gently press it with the back of a spoon. Then turn over the bowl onto a plate, and tap the bowl so that the couscous falls on the plate in the shape of the dome.