Couscous with Chicken Stew

My grandmother's recipe for this stew includes an elaborate list of vegetables. After trying out this recipe, I found that on busier days in school I can use much fewer vegetables and still have a delicious meal. At home, we like to make this with chicken but North Africans will traditionally serve couscous with lamb.

Preparing the chicken & chicken stock:

For this stew I used a whole chicken, which I then broke into pieces. I prepared the chicken stock in the same way I did for the mulukhia chicken stock (boil until tender with one large onion, 2 bay leaves, 3-4 cardamom pieces, 1/2 teaspoon of black peppercorn, and a teaspoon of salt). Drain the chicken stock and place aside. Save about a cup's worth of the chicken stock for preparing the couscous.

Preparing the stew:

Begin by frying sliced onions in olive oil in a large pot. Next fry green peppers, carrots, squash, cubed potatoes, cubed sweet potatoes, green peas, green beans, and zucchinis. Add the chicken stock, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, and tomato slices to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow the vegetables to cook for about 15 minutes. Add the chicken to the stew, allow the chicken to soak up the flavor for another 5 minutes.  Also, while adding the chicken, add about a jar of chickpeas. Once the vegetables are cooked, add 1.5 teaspoons of turmeric, 1 teaspoon of cumin, and about a teaspoon and a half of crushed coriander.

Preparing the couscous:

Fry about 1 cup of packaged couscous in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add 3/4 cup of the chicken stock, and 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce from the stew to the couscous. Stir the couscous for about 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow the couscous to absorb the fluid on its own for another 5 minutes.

....Enjoy :)