Spicy Couscous with potatoes and nuts (bateta couscous)

It was Sunday morning and I wanted to make a quick and easy brunch. I often make bateta pawa for brunch but thought I would use the same recipe but use couscous instead of pawa (flaked rice). I got introduced to couscous by my son. He told me that he often takes a mixture of couscous and boiled vegetables for his lunch when he is at Uni but finds it quite bland so we tried this recipe and managed to come up with ideas to spice up his lunch too!!

 

Ingredients for 4 servings:

  1. 1 medium sized potato diced
  2. ¼ cup sweetcorn (I used tinned sweetcorn)
  3. 1 grated onion
  4. handful of almonds and peanuts
  5. 2-3 chopped green chillies
  6. 1 cup of couscous
  7. 1 tsp salt
  8. ½ turmeric
  9. 1-2 tbl lemon juice
  10. 1 tsp sugar (optional)
  11. 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  12. 1 teaspoon mustard seeds or cumin seeds
  13. A few curry leaves, coriander and chilly powder for garnishing (optional)

    Method

    1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add mustard seeds to it.

    2. Once the popping stops, add the onions, green chillies, nuts and stir.

    3. Add the salt, turmeric and sugar.

    4. Cook the onions for a couple of minutes.

    5. Now add the diced potatoes and sweetcorn and cook this until the potatoes soften. This should take about 5-7 minutes.

     

  14. 6. Whilst the potatoes are cooking, soak the couscous in room temperature water. For one cup of couscous, you will need two cups of water. The water will get absorbed by the couscous and within two minutes – the couscous will swell up and look cooked.

     

  15. 7. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the couscous to the mixture. Using a large pronged fork, lightly mix in the couscous so that it fluffs up and blends in and takes the flavour of the spices in the potatoes and sweetcorn.

     

  16. 8. Add the lemon juice, sugar, coriander and curry leaves and allow the mixture to cook on a low heat for a couple of minutes. If it looks too dry, just add a couple of tablespoons of water to it.

     

  17. 9. Sprinkle some chilly powder to the spicy couscous and serve it hot with plain yogurt.

     

Other couscous recipes in the blog are as below:

If  you have a hunger for Authentic Vegetarian Food then subscribe to my blog and receive delectable recipes and new Innovative foodie updates! Hungry for more Vegetarian Tips ? LIKE us on facebook,  Follow us on Twitter,  Pinterest and Instagram.  All the recipes are with step by step instructions and photographs and all of them have been tried, tested, easy to cook and delicious.

If you are interested in one to one or group cookery lessons, or any corporate team building events  – email me on givemesomespice@gmail.com for more information.  

 

Mina Joshi

I am a busy working mum who aims to make quick and healthy authentic vegetarian and vegan dishes for my family. I am also a face to face and online cookery teacher, recipe developer, restaurant and product reviewer. I share all recipes with step by step instructions.

Disqus Comments Loading...

Recent Posts

How Is Everyone’s Veganuary Going?

Everyone must be asking you by now about your veganuary journey. So how is it going? By now, some of…

19 January 2026

What People Are Afraid Of When Cooking Indian Food

When I ask this question in my cookery classes, people often laugh first — and then admit their worries. I…

15 January 2026

Why My Focus Has Shifted from Blogging to Teaching

From 2010, Give Me Some Spice was all about blogging; creating recipes, styling food, taking photos, and sharing them online.…

7 January 2026

Veganuary Made Easy: My Top Vegan Recipes

First of all, well done to everyone taking part in Veganuary — you’re doing great.  If you’re finding it a…

6 January 2026

Year 2025 Roundup

In case you’re wondering, I’m still around — my focus has simply shifted from blogging to teaching. Sharing knowledge and…

31 December 2025

3 Drinks That Taste Deliciously Boozy But Have Zero Alcohol Content

The way we interact with alcohol has changed substantially in the last decade. Many responsible drinkers like the occasional glass,…

26 March 2025