Algeria's National Dish: Couscous

ajmal_ihsaas22

Striving For Jannah
Couscous can be made with vegetables, raisins, peas, even almond! For this recipe, I chose to make it with green peas.

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Ingredients:
1 package of medium-grained couscous (use only 2 cups)
2 cups of green peas
Salt, Vegetable Oil, ½ a stick of unsalted butter

Directions
Wash the couscous in cold water and drain immediately. Let it rest in a strainer for ten minutes. Fill a couscousiere with 4 cups of water, put it on top of the stove, and let the water boil. Meanwhile, spread the couscous in a large shallow pan and pour 1 tablespoon of oil over it. Using your fingertips, lift and rake the grains to separate them. This process should break up any lumps that have formed.

When the water boils, dampen a paper napkin and place it across the circumference of the rim of the bottom part of the couscousiere. This is done to effectively seal the colander on top of the pot. Pour the couscous into the colander and steam it for about 15 minutes. When it’s done steaming for the first time, spread it out into the large shallow pan again. Fill a small bowl with 1 ¼ cups of water and add 1 teaspoon of the salt to the water. Mix together. Then, gradually sprinkle the water over the couscous, while separating and stirring the grains gently with your hands. Let the couscous rest aside. Then, pour the peas in the colander, add 1 teaspoon salt, and steam them for 10 -15 minutes.

When the peas are done, pour them into a serving bowl and add the butter to the bowl. Lastly, add two more tablespoons of oil to the couscous, and again lift and stir the grains gently. Steam the couscous one last time in the colander. When its done, add the couscous to the peas and butter, stir the peas and butter in, and serve. Bon appetite!
 

dianek

Junior Member
Couscous can be made with vegetables, raisins, peas, even almond! For this recipe, I chose to make it with green peas.

HPIM2944.jpg


HPIM2946.jpg



Ingredients:
1 package of medium-grained couscous (use only 2 cups)
2 cups of green peas
Salt, Vegetable Oil, ½ a stick of unsalted butter

Directions
Wash the couscous in cold water and drain immediately. Let it rest in a strainer for ten minutes. Fill a couscousiere with 4 cups of water, put it on top of the stove, and let the water boil. Meanwhile, spread the couscous in a large shallow pan and pour 1 tablespoon of oil over it. Using your fingertips, lift and rake the grains to separate them. This process should break up any lumps that have formed.

When the water boils, dampen a paper napkin and place it across the circumference of the rim of the bottom part of the couscousiere. This is done to effectively seal the colander on top of the pot. Pour the couscous into the colander and steam it for about 15 minutes. When it’s done steaming for the first time, spread it out into the large shallow pan again. Fill a small bowl with 1 ¼ cups of water and add 1 teaspoon of the salt to the water. Mix together. Then, gradually sprinkle the water over the couscous, while separating and stirring the grains gently with your hands. Let the couscous rest aside. Then, pour the peas in the colander, add 1 teaspoon salt, and steam them for 10 -15 minutes.

When the peas are done, pour them into a serving bowl and add the butter to the bowl. Lastly, add two more tablespoons of oil to the couscous, and again lift and stir the grains gently. Steam the couscous one last time in the colander. When its done, add the couscous to the peas and butter, stir the peas and butter in, and serve. Bon appetite!

Do all North African countries claim Couscous as their national dish? My husband swears that Tunisia is the best couscous EVER....LOL!!!!!
 

Saidsaad

New Member
My wife is from Morocco. I dont know the full details of how she cooks it, but it goes somthing like this:
she makes great tasting coucous by steaming it 2 or 3 times. First the couscous is washed, then spread out in a large flatish bowl by hand to seperate all the grains from each other.Then steamed , then seperated in the bowl again. Then steamed etc.. repeating the procedure 2 or 3 times ..it takes about 2 hours, steaming about half an hour or so each time. The vedge is cooked in the water being steamed. It tastes so good..
 

dianek

Junior Member
Salaam Brother....Hee Hee!! I use the cheaters way....I buy the Near East ready in 5 minutes couscous.....I still steam it above a pot of boiling tomato sauce with veggies, lamb etc.....in the end I strain all the sauce into the couscous and stir it up then spoon veggies and meat on top.........we add harissa to the tomato sauce for spiceyness...in total takes me less than 45 minutes.....only because it takes the meat that long to get tender.....
 

hayat_yahya

Junior Member
i like pretty much this algerian dish named couscous,,,u make it fast and it is really good tasting and good-looking,,,this yr i made by myself 1st time and i like it with veggies and beef or chicken meat,,,as veggies i put tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, cucumber, salad usually...but u can put whtever u have or like as it works~
 

gazkour

Junior Member
Assalamo alikom wa rahmato Allah wa barakato

My husband claims Moroccan couscous is the best prepaired. (I think he cannot longer claim it to be originally from just his country! hehe). By the way, he prepares it yummy!! I don't know about the other versions yet.
 
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