Malian Vegetable Sauce with Fonio-Style Couscous

Ingredients

• 300 g couscous
• 400 g sweet potatoes
• 2 carrots
• 250 g white cabbage
• 1 aubergine
• 2 onions
• 3 tbsp tomato purée
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 scotch bonnet chilli
• 800 ml vegetable stock
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

1. 1

   Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pan over a medium heat and fry the sliced onions for 8 minutes until golden. Add the crushed garlic and tomato purée and fry for 3 minutes until brick red.

2. 2

   Pour in the vegetable stock, add the scotch bonnet pierced once with a knife, and bring to the boil.

3. 3

   Add the sweet potatoes and carrots, cut into large chunks, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the aubergine in chunks and the cabbage in wedges and simmer for 12-15 minutes more until everything is tender and the sauce has thickened a little. Season with salt.

4. 4

   Fonio, the tiny ancient grain of Mali, is now sold in some supermarkets; couscous is the easy swap. Put the couscous in a bowl with a pinch of salt and the remaining oil, pour over 375ml boiling water, cover for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

5. 5

   Remove the scotch bonnet and serve the vegetables and sauce over the couscous.