Just a couple of weeks ago, I made a chickpea and carrot salad which was pretty good. Then I saw this Cumin-Spiced Chickpeas and Carrots recipe in Cooking Light, and decided that sounded even better. Most of the comments indicated that the dish needed more sauce, so I increased the amount of liquid and made a few other changes to suit my tastes.
All of the changes worked well, and I really liked this dish. That was a good thing since it made 5 lunches worth of food! I also really like using whole wheat couscous as a base for the chickpeas and carrots. It’s not always available in the regular grocery store, but I do find it at Trader Joe’s. If you can’t find whole wheat couscous, brown rice would work well too.
Chickpeas and Carrots over Couscous
1/2 c. vegetable broth
Juice of 1 lemon
8 oz. tomato sauce
2 (15 oz.) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 T canola oil, divided
2 c. sliced carrots
1 t cumin
1/2 t garam masala
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
4 c. cooked whole wheat couscous
Combine broth, lemon juice, and tomato sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat 1 T oil in a large skillet over high heat, and fry chickpeas for 5 minutes, or until browned. Remove chickpeas from pan and set aside.
Add remaining tablespoon of oil to pan, and add sliced carrots. Stir fry for 5-10 minutes. Add cumin, garam masala, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper and stir well. Add in broth mixture and chikpeas. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over couscous.
