Couscous With Chicken And Chickpeas - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil or 2 tablespoons canola oil
8 chicken drumsticks
3 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 onion, cut into thin slices
1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
6 cups water
3 carrots, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (1 2/3 cups)
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped and packed in
1 1/3 cups couscous

Preparation

In a large deep frying pan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over moderately high heat.
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Put the chicken in the pan and brown well, about 8 minutes in all.
Remove. Pour off all but 1 tbsp of the fat. Reduce heat to moderately low.
Add the onion and turnip and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste, paprika, cumin, cayenne, and 2 1/4 tsp of the salt. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Stir in 4 cups of the water and the carrots.
Add in the chicken and bring to a simmer.
Cover and cook, stirring the mixture two or three times, until the chicken and vegetables are almost done, about 20 minutes.
Stir in the chickpeas and parsley and simmer until the chicken and vegetables are done, about 5 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the remaining 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the remaining 1/4 tsp salt and couscous.
Cover. Remove the pot from the heat and let the couscous stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Serve the stew with its broth over the couscous.