Spicy Couscous or Bulgur Wheat with Mango, Chilli, Coconut, and Lime

I’m SO not vegan: I love eggs and milk too much.

But I found a discounted mango and had coconut, chillies, ginger, garlic, and a few fresh herbs sitting around.

Couscous is a flavour absorber like bulgur wheat and both are low-GI, so you can make a nutritious and delicious side salad quite easily in no time at all.

Serves: 8 or more as an accompaniment

Ingredients

• A 2″ piece (thumb-sized) of fresh ginger root
• 6 garlic cloves
• Sprinkling of sea salt flakes
• 2 unwaxed limes
• 1 sweet pepper/capiscum: red, orange, yellow, or green to your taste
• 1 red or green chilli (if you like spicy, go for 2 chillies)
• 5 tablespoons brown sugar: soft dark brown, light or dark muscovado, or even molasses sugar
• 1 tablespoon each of whole spices: coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, and rainbow or black peppercorns (if you have szechuan peppercorns, use only 1/2 a tablespoon)
  – you could always use dried spices, 1 tsp each; but these should not be dry-fried
• 1 litre vegetable stock; or, 1 litre water with a vegetable stock cube
• 500g dried couscous or bulgur wheat
• 1 mango (approx 410-420g or so when weighed whole)
• Coconut flakes – a couple of handsful
• 5-6 spring onions, dark green ends only
• Fresh coriander leaf
• Fresh mint
• Optional: Nuts, mushrooms, tomatoes etc as per the ‘Customising’ footnote

Kit

• Several bowls/plates to hold prepped ingredients
• A chopping board and sharp knife (+ a vegetable peeler if you prefer to use that rather than a knife on the mango and ginger)
• A fine grater
• A citrus juicer
• A mortar & pestle; or, a spice grinder
• Wooden spoon
• An electric kettle if using water; or, another pot or a microwave to heat up vegetable stock to boiling
• A large saucepan with lid

Steps

1. Prep all of your ingredients:
   – Peel and grate the ginger and garlic; sprinkle over some sea salt and mash into a paste with the back of a knife (or a spoon)
   – Roll the limes under your palm on the countertop to soften; then grate the zest from both, and juice both
   – Slice the dark green ends from the spring onions on a diagonal about 1/2″ wide
   – Slice your bell pepper vertically, remove stem/membrane/seeds, and slice thinly
   – Very finely slice your chilli(es); remove the membrane/seeds to your taste
   – Put all your whole spices into a mortar & pestle (or a spice grinder if you have it), and very lightly grind until just roughly bashed
   – Peel the mango, and cut the flesh away from the blade-like stone. Chop the flesh into even cubes about 1/2″ square.
   – Get your coconut flakes, and mint/coriander leaves in a bowl.
2. Put your large pot on the hob on a high heat, and start boiling your kettle (if using vegetable stock not from a cube, heat it in another saucepan or in the microwave).
3. When the pot is very hot, tip in the bashed whole spices. Move quickly around with a wooden spoon until the aromas are released – this could be anywhere up to 30 seconds.
   Don’t leave too long as they will burn.
4. Your water or stock should be boiling by now: add the couscous (or bulgur wheat) to the saucepan spices with the liquid (and a crumbled stock cube, if using).
5. Add all additional ingredients except mango, coconut, spring onion, and fresh herbs; give it a good stir, and bring back to the boil. Then immediately knock it back down to the smallest simmer (ideally, move it to the smallest ring at the lowest setting). Put the lid on, and leave for 10-12 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.
   Give it a stir a couple of times to ensure nothing is stuck to the bottom.
   At 8 minutes, if it’s looking quite dry, splash some more hot water over.
   If at 10 minutes it’s still looking quite wet, remove the lid and increase the heat slightly.
6. When the grains have cooked and absorbed all the liquid, take off the heat and set aside for about 10 minutes, fluffing the grains with a fork. When slightly cooled, stir in the mango, coconut, and spring onion.
7. Serve each portion with a sprinkling of fresh herbs over. You could add some more coconut, more chopped chilli, and even a wedge of lime (see ‘Customising’ footnote for more ideas).
   

Customising
You could do so much to make this your own dish:
– Chopped peanuts as a garnish add a Thai styling to the dish, or even chopped cashews for more nutty flavour (and protein).
– A bay leaf or two in the cooking (make sure you fish them out before serving) adds another level of flavour.
– If you’re not vegan, try chicken or beef stock to bring heftiness to the dish.
– You could add sliced button mushrooms, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, or even steamed broccoli / green beans to add more veg and texture to each serving.
– Wee cherry tomatoes, halved, could be dotted over each serving before adding the garnishes.

– Serve on fresh lettuce leaves either as cups; or, eat as wraps (it’s gloriously messy as well as tasty).

– Non-vegetarians might like some minced beef. Break up and bake on a lined tray in the oven at 180C (165C fan-assisted) for about 40 minutes, turning the tray every 10 minutes and breaking up clumps/stirring with a wooden spoon. Baking is healthier than frying; and, makes the beef bits really crispy.