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Recipes | Refreshing Couscous Salad with Fresh Fruits & Veggies Drenched in Orange Juice

5 July 2012 21 Comments

Recipes | Refreshing Couscous Salad with Fresh Fruits & Veggies Drenched in Orange Juice

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” ~ John Lennon.

I was content with what life offered to me for many years, overlooking the stagnancy it brought in my personal growth. Taking care of children, managing routine household chores kept me ticking, confined in the four walls of my sweet home. And then Lite Bite happened in 2009 and changed the entire perspective of what life is!

My day starts pretty early now and from then begins the game of catch-and-catch between the elusive ‘Time’ and me 🙂

But for Lite Bite I would never have ventured into cooking anything out of my comfort zone. For years together semolina or couscous was used to make just a plain Upma for breakfast, a simple Indian dessertKesari’ or a savory veggie cake. Tried this easy and filling salad from Middle Eastern cuisine and love the simplicity of the recipe. The recipe is from a food show on Discovery channel and I like how light, filling and refreshing the recipe is with the goodness of fruits and Olive oil in it.

Sharing in the same post the ubiquitous breakfast recipe of Upma from South India.

1. Couscous Salad with Fresh Fruits & Veggies Drenched in Orange Juice

Recipes | Refreshing Couscous Salad with Fresh Fruits & Veggies Drenched in Orange Juice

A light summer salad to start your day with, it makes a healthy breakfast option and a great accompaniment to any meal. You could use any of the two mentioned ways to prepare the couscous for the recipe.

(Serve 2)

Ingredients;

  • 1 cup whole-wheat couscous
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 1 small ripe mango
  • 1 small red bell pepper
  • 1 small orange
  • 2 tbsp chopped walnuts
  • 2 tbsp. Olive oil
  • 1 tbsp chopped mint leaves
  • 1 tsp. orange zest
  • Salt as desired

Method; Use slightly coarse variety of couscous for this recipe, pearl couscous gives the best results. If you get pre cooked couscous then you need to just soak it in hot water (1:1 ratio) for 5 minutes before using in the recipe. Cook couscous using any of these methods;

  1. Bring one and a half cup of water to boil. Add couscous in it, cover the vessel and turn off the heat. Let stand for 5-10 minutes till all the water is absorbed. Drain and transfer the couscous in a large bowl.
  2.  Take couscous in a large bowl, add a pinch of salt and mix well. Add 2 tbsp. of Olive oil in the couscous and rub lightly using the tip of your fingers. Place the Olive oil infused couscous in a steamer and steam for 10 minutes, or empty the couscous in a flat plate (preferably with small holes in it), spread it evenly and cover with another plate. Place the perforated plate over a vessel full of water and let the couscous get cooked in the steam for about 15 minutes.

Peel the mango and slice it into tiny cubes. Chop bell pepper into small pieces. Grate the orange and get one tsp. of zest, squeeze out the juice the orange.

Chop mint leaves and walnuts.

Check the couscous and fluff it lightly with a fork.

Recipes | Refreshing Couscous Salad with Fresh Fruits & Veggies Drenched in Orange Juice

Mix cubed mango pieces, bell pepper, chopped walnuts, orange zest, salt, olive oil and orange juice and whisk together.

Recipes | Refreshing Couscous Salad with Fresh Fruits & Veggies Drenched in Orange Juice

Pour the above dressing in the cooked couscous and stir it gently. Garnish the Couscous Salad with chopped mint leaves and serve chilled.

2. Upma – A Quick & Delicious Indian Breakfast Recipe

Recipes | Refreshing Couscous Salad with Fresh Fruits & Veggies Drenched in Orange Juice

Upma – A popular Indian breakfast recipe.

Ingredients;

  • 1 cup Semolina
  • 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
  • ½ cup vegetables (as desired)
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 small tomato
  • 2 green chilies
  • 1 tsp. Bengal-gram
  • ½ tsp. mustard seeds
  • A few sprigs of curry leaves
  • Salt as desired
  • 3 cups water

Method; Dry roast semolina or rawa (suji) in a pan till it becomes light brown in color. Peel and chop all the veggies in thin slices or small cubes. Boil water in a separate vessel and keep aside.

Heat oil and crackle mustard seeds (rai) and Bengal gram in a wok or kadai. Add diced green chilies, curry leaves, sliced onion and saute for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.

Add diced tomatoes and any other veggies you wish (fresh peas, carrots, beans, corn goes well with the recipe) and saute for 5-6 minutes on high heat. Keep stirring to avoid burning the veggies. Add dry fried semolina, salt and mix well. Pour hot water in the wok and keep cooking and stirring to avoid lumps in the recipe on high heat for 5 minutes.

Cover and cook the Upma on medium heat for another 5 minutes and put off the flame. Garnish the recipe with fresh coriander leaves if  you like.

Serve the Upma hot with any chutney or lentil curry (Sambhar) as a scrumptious and filling breakfast or dinner. Many like to eat Upma with just plain curd/sugar/melted butter and even ripened banana.

Recipes | Refreshing Couscous Salad with Fresh Fruits & Veggies Drenched in Orange Juice

The Couscous salad has a perfect blend of sweetness from mangoes & bell pepper and tangy flavor from orange. Roast the bell peppers on flame directly, peel the charred skin and then add the pulp to the recipe for a smoky flavor to the recipe.

Notes;

  1. Add crushed black pepper to make the salad spicier.
  2. Replace orange juice and orange zest with that of lemon for variation.
  3. Use slightly coarse variety of couscous (Dalia) for the salad recipe and a very fine variety (suji) for the Upma.
  4. Reduce the quantity of water to 2 cups in Upma recipe to get fluffy texture of cooked semolina.

 

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21 Comments »

  • Baker Street said:

    Wow Sanjee! I’d totally like to have that for breakfast! Adding orange zest is such a fantastic idea! 🙂

  • Karen said:

    Love all the bright flavors in this salad…perfect dish for summer!

  • chinmayie @ love food eat said:

    Beauitufl bright colorful photos… Salad sounds very interesting. I have never really used mangoes in salads before.

  • kankana said:

    made some mango salsa yesterday and lassi and today am thinking I will make salad like you did 🙂

  • Nandita said:

    This salad looks so vibrant and yummy Sanjeeta. Loved all the photographs 🙂

  • Suzi said:

    Beautiful salad. I love the combo of the whole-wheat couscous with the mango and the walnuts. Looks so lite and fresh and of course healthy.

  • Deepa said:

    For me also my blog is a life line now. I get immense satisfaction. That’s a beautiful looking salad soaking in orange juice

  • Maureen @ Orgasmic Chef said:

    I can’t tell which dish I like more. That salad is beautiful – no other words to describe it and the breakfast recipe is so intriguing!

    Wonderful post!

  • dassana@veg recipes of india said:

    i liked the couscous salad. very easy and simple recipe. not that i don’t like the upma… i like that too… just that we end up making & having upma more than the salad 😉

  • Priya said:

    Seriously cant take my eyes from ur irresistible click,super tempting upma and catchy salad.

  • Rosa said:

    What a delicious salad! So fresh and colorful. Yummy.

    cheers,

    Rosa

  • peachkins said:

    I love how festive this dish is….

  • Jayasri said:

    Hi Sangeetha, missed wishing you for your birthday, Belated Happy birthday wishes, so your camera is having a good ride and is in good hands so we can see.., love to see more beautiful clicks from you.., and of course your healthy recipes, I am still waiting for my camera !!, couscous salad looks lovely with colourful veggies in it.., good old upma has a taken a new look because of your beautiful clicks..

  • Sharmilee said:

    Beautiful clicks and colorful, healthy salad

  • mjskit said:

    Love both of these of these recipes and what absolutely gorgeous pictures!!!! I will be making the Indian breakfast for sure!!! Lovely post! Have a great weekend my friend!

  • May I Have That Recipe said:

    I love mixing fruits and vegetables in salads. Your sounds amazing. I love that you roasted the pepper, they are so much sweeter like that. Beautiful picture.

  • Faith said:

    Both of these dishes look like the perfect way to start your day. That mago salad is really calling to me — it looks like the perfect balance of flavors!

  • Magic of Spice said:

    What a gorgeous salad! Both recipes in fact, look totally delicious!
    Hope you are having a great weekend 🙂

  • Asmita said:

    I would love to eat this, anytime. Looks fabulous!

  • Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen said:

    Light and satisfying, just perfect for summer.

  • ea-The Spicy RD said:

    Lovely salads Sanjeeta! The first salad would be delicious with quinoa, and I’d love to try the Upma-just not sure if a gluten-free version would be the same. I hope you’re having a wonderful summer 🙂

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