A Spicy Adventure
My husband is a big foodie and sometimes, just for the sake of being adventurous, he tries food that normally comes with warnings. For instance, during our travel fiesta in Thailand, he was eating deep-fried tarantulas. I remember him crunching the eight legs away like its cucumber and not a tarantula. So out of his love for different types of cuisines we decided to try some African cuisine at a Algerian restaurant in Pune. Out of the list of elaborate dishes, we decided to try our luck on Saffron and Raisin Couscous with Fresh Mint while my husband ordered couscous with Harissa Sauce. It was interesting to try both variations of the same dish. After the food arrived, we started off in no time since we were so excited.
My husband puts his fork into the couscous, puts the harissa enhanced couscous in his mouth, and plays out a mimed version of a scene from Wile E. Coyote! In no time, it seemed as if steam was coming out of his ears. He was beyond speechless. He swallowed the mouthful of couscous and inhaled. But it was as if he was frightened to try to breathe. Remember the painting by Eduard Munch titled The Scream? Like that. His mouth was open but no sound was coming out. But everyone knew what he was trying to say. It would go something like, “AWWWWWW!!!”. It does not require translation.
By now his eyes were bugging out. His colour changed into the colour of harissa. And he began to perspire. And, I started screaming, “ Milk, somebody get him milk. Immediately!!!! Please.!!”.
It took some 20-30 odd minutes before my husband calmed down and the waiter explained,’ Harissa sauce is a hot chili pepper paste made from roasted red peppers, Baklouti pepper, Serrano peppers, and other hot chili peppers, spices and herbs. The flavours are very complex. And, it is very hot.” My husband now thinks 100 times before trying something new, even though I would blame his ignorance and sometimes impatience. But, you guys are not so unlucky, email our Chef Varun Arora to get the recipe of Saffron and Raisin Couscous with Fresh Mint without burning your entrails. Write to varun.arora@meyerindia.in
