Moroccan style stew (tagine?)

There's something very comforting about a good old stew. And if said stew has the delicious scent of cumin, coriander, cloves, fennel, ginger... and a whole host of other tongue tingling mouth waterers, you know you're onto a winner.

Not that I want to toot my own horn, but this recipe is blinkin' marevellous.

Toot toot!

Ingredients:
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeeds
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginder
generous pinch ground cinnamon
2tsp paprika
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 courgette, roughly chopped
1 tin chick peas, drained
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 cup Camargue (red) rice
good handful dried apricots and other dried fuit if you wish (I included cranberries and dates)
handful dried soya chunks


Method:
1. Rehydrate the soya chunks as per instructions.

2. Dry fry all the ingredients from the cumin seeds to the fennel seeds for five minutes over a moderate heat, stirring frequently. Crush to powder in a pestle and mortar

3. Add the remainder of your spices to the ones you have ground, and mix together.

4. Fry the onion, garlic and chilli flakes and garlic for 2 minutes, then add the spice mix, rice, courgette and soya chunks. Fry for 5 minutes then add the chick peas and the fruit.

5. Add the tomatoes, and a cup of water, then half-fill the tomatoes tin with water and add that.

6. Simmer for 20 minutes and serve with couscous, or alone as a stew.

I repeat: Toot toot!