Quail Pepper Roast

 Tender, flavoursome and nutritious - almost no fat, and cooks very fast: Quail ticks all the boxes for a quick mid week dinner. Today I decided to fall back on my grand mother's fail safe recipe for all game meat as I was pruning my curry leaf tree and had a lot of curry leaves that I needed to use.

Quail tastes similar to chicken, except it is smaller and definitely more flavour.  I got a pack of 6 quail, from my local market. The plan is to cook them as whole birds and serve them up on a bed of  couscous.

Back home in my youth I have heard people say that quail is very good for health and that it is especially good if you suffer from respiratory diseases like asthma. My father used to eat quail eggs regularly for this reason as it was supposed to build up immunity.

I made the couscous with an Indian touch using curry leaves to marry with the flavours of the quail.  The fresh salad combines all the different elements with a sweet and sour and acidic touch. 

Ingredients:

2 quail, cleaned, washed and patted dry

1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons oil

1 big handful of curry leaves

1 teaspoon black pepper, ground

For the Couscous

1/2 cup couscous

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup of chopped mixed vegetables - I used onion, carrots and celery

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 tablespoon oil

1 stalk curry leaf

For the Salad

1/2 a cucumber sliced thinly

5 roma mini tomatoes, quartered

3 tablespoons apple cider vnegar

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1/2  teaspoon sugar

1/2  teaspoon salt
freshly cracked black pepper


Method:

To the cleaned quail, add the chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt and rub well.  Add the water and place in a  pan to cook for 6 to 7 minutes in a slow fire.  

When the water in the pan has almost evaporated, add oil and the black pepper powder, reduce the heat and start roasting the quail by turning it over and over until it gets evenly browned.  

Add a large handful of curry leaves and repeat the turning over and browning.

When you are finished, in about 10 minutes, the quail should look like this - evenly brown and still succulent.

The quail is now done. I cut it lengthwise into four pieces.

For the couscous, heat oil and add the stalk of curry leaves.  Next add the vegetables and sauté for a couple minutes.  Add the stock and when it boils, add the couscous and let the stock get absorbed.

Fluff up the couscous and it is ready to serve.

Make the dressing for the salad using the apple cider vinegar, salt, sugar and olive oil.  Place it in a bowl and add the vegetables to it.

To serve, place a generous spoon of the couscous on the plate, half a quail and add a few drops of the flavoured oil on the quail.  A serve of the salad vegetables on the side and wait for your taste buds to tingle!