Black Bean and Cous Cous salad

1 onion (finely chopped)
1 green bell pepper (cut into 1 cubic cm pieces)
2 Roma tomatoes (1 cubic cm pieces again)
1/2 cup sliced mushroom
1 celery heart (finely cut)
1 15 oz can black beans
2 cups plain couscous
1/4th tbsp olive oil
2 cups water
salt to taste
cilantro leaves for garnish

Heat olive oil in a pan add onion and mushrooms and cook till onions turn transparent. Add cous cous to pan and 2 cups of water. Add salt to taste. Cook couscous till it is fully done and fluff out with a fork. Cool and mix in with other ingredients. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve. You can also cook the couscous in broth for flavor or add olives.

Chilli Cauliflower

Ingredients:

4tbsp yoghurt

2tsp ginger paste

2 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp dhania powder

{ you can substitute the garam masala and dhania powder with 1.5tsp of tandoori masala)

1 cup cauliflower florets

2 tsp chilli powder ( use kashmiri chilli powder to get a nice pink color)

Protocol:

Marinate cauliflower florets in the yoghurt ( yoghurt should not be thick so just beat it lightly) with garlic, ginger, chilli powder garam masala and dhania powder.

Let marinate for 2-3 hours.

Heat oil in a pan and cook the marinated florets tilll well cooked.

Add salt and garnish wiht corriander leaves

Garlic Herb Roasted Chicken with Rice

Special thanks to Karimeh for this recipe. What I love about this recipe is that it need not use any oil or butter at all.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (sliced in half)

White onions (3 large)

rosemary (5-6 sprigs)

garlic (8-10 cloves; peeled)

thyme (to taste)

dried basil (1.5 tbsp)

Rice (1 cup)

Chicken broth (2 cups)

Salt to taste

olive oil (1.5 tsps, optional)

Protocol:

Peel and cut onions into length wise pieces and place at the bottom of a casserole dish. Lightly rub salt on chicken breasts and set aside for half an hour. Place chicken breasts over the onions in the dish. Garnish with rosemary, thyme and basil. Crush half the garlic with mortar pestle or a garlic press. Add crushed garlic cloves as well as whole cloves of garlic into the dish. Cover dish with an aluminum foil and bake at 400oF for 45 mins. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 mins. The chicken and the onions should be well cooked and moist but the dish should not be soggy.

Cook rice in chicken broth instead of water. Add olive oil if you prefer to keep the rice for more than one meal, it will keep the rice from drying out.