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.

• Main Dishes