Couscous and Vegetable Medley
Israeli Couscous cooked with vegetables of choice in Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker. Enjoy it as a side or salad.
Israeli Couscous cooked with vegetables of choice in Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker. Enjoy it as a side or salad.
- Carbohydrate 0.175567067773063 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.84399038497722 g
- Fiber 0.0105096154968818 g
- Protein 0.010609134635876 g
- Saturated Fat 0.116505000049962 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (110g)
- Sodium 1167.15406250357 mg
- Sugar 0.165057452276181 g
- Trans Fat 0.0230891346251833 g
- Calories 8 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat the Instant Pot in Sauté mode and add olive oil to it. Add the bay leaves and onions. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the bell peppers and carrots. Sauté for one more minute.
- Add the couscous, water, garam masala and salt. Stir well.
- Change the instant pot setting to manual mode for 2 minutes. When the instant pot beeps, do 10 minutes natural pressure release. This means release the pressure manually 10 minutes after the beep.
- Fluff the couscous, it is fully cooked. Mix in the lemon juice. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.
Swapping standard fine-grained Moroccan couscous for Israeli pearl couscous fundamentally alters the cooking thermodynamics, requiring deliberate moisture ratios and pressurized heat to achieve an even, al dente chew without turning the larger pasta spheres into a gluey paste. Pressure cooking starches often presents a challenge because closed-vessel environments trap all steam, meaning excess liquid cannot evaporate during the cooking cycle and precise measurement is required to avoid waterlogging the vegetables. Precise liquid ratios combined with a strict ten-minute natural pressure release allow the toasted pasta to absorb residual moisture steadily without continuing to soften aggressively under high heat. Sautéing the aromatics directly in the cooker base first renders the onions translucent and awakens the fat-soluble compounds in the garam masala and bay leaves before sealing the unit. Utilizing fresh grated carrots provides distinct moisture and cellular structure that behaves differently under pressure compared to commercially dehydrated or frozen alternatives, yielding a brighter crunch and cleaner vegetal sweetness in the final grain mixture.
