Chickpeas Couscous Paella/Vegan Chickpeas Paella with Couscous

Paella is a Spanish/Valencian dish with is usually prepared with rice. Many types of Paella exists from meat to seafood, mixed to vegetarian/vegan. However the original, traditional Paella recipe consists of white rice, green beans, white beans, meat and seasoning like saffron and rosemary.Some says that this dish is a Spanish's national dish but the real spanish peoples consider this rice dish as a regional Valencian dish. Paella is cooked usually in a special pan and it is cooked over open fire, fueled by orange, pine branches along with pine cones  gives an excellent aroma to this one pot meal. Since i dont want to go with the traditional paella, i googled to have look for a different paella that too without rice. I got hooked to this Chickpeas Couscous Paella which pulled me to give a try to this vegetarian version of Paella.

This filling vegetarian paella is completely vegan as i made few changes according to my tastebuds and vegetable available in my fridge. Obviously this dish is not a traditional one, but trust me with loads of vegetable and chickpeas this paella makes an excellent main course to enjoy with some meats or grilled vegetables. If you want to skip rice in your diet, couscous replace rice very well, hence this paella came out extremely prefect though i used fine quality couscous instead of medium sized ones. However you wont miss rice in this flavourful one pot meal, which came out absolutely colourful and stunning. Though the original recipe went with just bellpeppers,peas,carrots, i couldnt stop myself adding zucchini,aubergine/eggplant along with bellpeppers and carrots. Adding chickpeas give an incredible nutritious touch, it makes this simple one pot meal as a super healthy food. This vegan paella goes to this week's blogging marathon as am running Mega marathon with 5 ingredients for 5 weeks. Chickpeas are my main ingredient for this week's blogging marathon.

2cups Coucous
1no Large onion( diced)
1cup Red bell pepper (diced)
1no Eggplant (diced)
1cup Zucchini (diced)
3cups Chickpeas (cooked)
1/2cup Carrot (diced)
1/4tsp Saffron threads
1cup Tomatoes (diced)
1tbsp Garlic (minced)
2tsp Paprika powder
2cups Vegetable broth
1/2tsp Cayenne
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper powder

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the diced onions and bell peppers and sauté until softened.

Add the minced garlic and paprika and sauté for a minute.

Add the  tomatoes, aubergine,zucchini, chickpeas, carrots, and sauté for a while.

Add the vegetable broth, saffron threads, cayenne,salt ,pepper powder and bring to boil.

Once its starts boiling, reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for few minutes.

Add the couscous into the mixture, cover, and cook for a minute.

Remove the pan from the stove and keep aside 5 minutes.

Fluff the couscous, cover, keep aside for an another 5 minutes.

Serve warm with your favourite meats or grilled vegetables.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 68

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