Of PINEAPPLE, COUSCOUS, and Unwanted Crushes

     "Who crushed my bread? Who?"demanded my brother Chase. "It's sagging!"

           "Oh get a grip," I told him. "It'll still be good."

          "Is there ever a time when sagging is good?"

           I had to think about that one....

          "Just look! Look!" He held out a deformed slice of bread for me and Trobee to behold. "Somebody crushed my F 'n bread!"

          I burst out laughing.

          "Well don't look at me," said Trobee, turning back to the stove.

           "I'm not looking at you!" he snapped. (Except that he was.) "I hate it when people crush my bread..." he muttered quietly as he went about frying up his daily omelet. "Bet it was Tim..."

          Speaking of crushes.

          Trobee was insistent that the pineapple pieces in today's dish NOT be 'crushed'. She was fixated on how they must be unmolested chunks-- she went on and on about it. I nodded, but didn't 'feel' it. Pineapple. Hmf.

          A pineapple curry has been in the NC destiny for a good long while now, ever since Trobee learned that pineapples do indeed exist in Indian cooking. "I'm a pineapple FANATIC!" she has often claimed. And yes, she is one of those People That Like Pineapple On Their Pizza.

          Diversity is good, I have often claimed. And since the NC is all about variety and possibilities, and NOT about me, I promised the feisty lass that one day we would come up with a pineapple dish for the NC.

          Over the past few months, we have cooked up several pineapple recipes. One recipe turned out 'boring', one was 'not bad', one was 'pretty good'. None of them were outstanding-- just not good enough to share with you, Our People.

          Enough! I'd had it. I printed out 7 Indian pineapple recipes that looked like they had potential. I laid them out before Trobee: "Here: Skim through these. Note what spices are used with the pineapple, note the method and the technique. Then come up with your own. I'm out of this one; it's your baby." After all, how could I be spice-intuitive about an ingredient I didn't like? It's all about love, spicing is. "Remember, Tro, you are doing this for the Pineapple People of the World. Well, at least among our Readers anyway. Now go."

          "I'm thinking couscous..." she murmurred thoughtfully as she began looking them over.

RECIPE B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N

We wanted to get whole wheat couscous. Honest. Yet our town's largest supermarket didn't carry it! But don't cry for us. We're used to that kind of rejection.

*     *    *

"Uh... so how many chillies?" asked Trobee.

I knew what she was really asking. "Go ahead. Use what you like. Trina won't be here today."

"Yesss!" She unearthed the hefty bag of dried red chilies from the pantry. We buy our dried chilies at the supermarket for very cheap. Nothing fancy.

"Don't bother de-seeding them either, since it's just for us. But bust em up a little when you add them to the pan. To let loose more of its its love-heat-flavor stuff."

"Yeah!"

It's not hard to get Trobee's motor running... if you know which buttons to press.

Our final recipe calls for 3 dried chilies. Since they are not ground here, the dish will not be hot (ask Trina.) Trobee uses six, resulting in "a bit of a bite."

*     *     *

"Bay leaf? Sure, throw it on in there. Can't hurt."

*     *     *

"Mmm? I freaking love the smell of chicken cooking with turmeric!"

*     *     *

"You know," said Trobee when we were finalizing the recipe, "I could've sworn that I had ground the masala before cooking with it last time...but I didn't write that here... "

I had her name the spices in the masala, and then when the masala was added.

"You did grind them first, then," I said. "For sure. If we're adding them on top of the onion and garlic, they have to be ground. Plus we almost never use coriander seeds whole -- they're hard little buggers."

*     *     *

"I just can't wait to see how this turns out!" said Trobee as she covered the pan to let the couscous absorb.

"I have no idea how this is gonna turn out," I said. Yes I was skeptical. Pineapple? Warm? With spices and vegetables? Hm.

When it was finished, she brought the steaming pan of golden couscous and bursting colors from the mixed vegetables.

It was beautiful. I took a bite.

Silence.

"This is a masterpiece," I said. "It's absolutely wonderful...and I don't even like pineapple. Good one, Tro. The Pineapple People will thank you for this."

~Click here for the post on *Couscous Upma*

photo by Trobee

graphic by Mo Digital

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Pineapple-Paradise Couscous Curry

• 2 chicken breasts or 8 oz. seitan, cubed
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 3 dried chilies, deseeded (Trobee uses 7 and leaves the seeds in)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2-inch cinnamon stick
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1 ½ tsp garlic paste or minced garlic
• 1 ½ cups (12 oz.) pineapple juice
• 1 Tb sugar
• ¾ cup pineapple chunks (we use canned ones)
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 cup uncooked couscous
• ¾ cup water

MASALA:

• seeds of one green cardamom pod
• 1 ½ Tb coriander seeds
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 4 whole cloves
• ½ tsp paprika

1. Whizz the masala into a powder with your coffee grinder. Set aside.
2. Marinate the chicken with turmeric and salt for about 20 minutes. Cook and set aside.
3. In large skillet, heat the oil until it is sizzle-hot. Add the black mustard seeds and chilies. Blink 5 times. Add the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Cover the skillet.
4. As soon as the mustard seeds have popped, add the onions and garlic, followed by the masala. Sauté until golden brown.
5. Add the pineapple juice and sugar, and bring everything to a boil.
6. Now add the chicken and vegetables. Cover. Cook until veggies are tender as you like them.
7. Add the raw couscous, pineapple chunks, and water. Cover and remove from heat. Don't lift the lid for five minutes, to allow the couscous to suck it up to its fullest potential. Now you can lift the lid and stir. Done.