Seksu bil Khodra, Algerian Couscous with 7 Vegetables, Couscous aux Sept Legumes

I decided to make couscous with seven vegetables last weekend while preparing my mise en place for Iftar. I had a good variety and combination of vegetables to make the dish.

There are as many variations of this dish as there are possible combinations for the vegetables we have available in the Maghreb. Some say the number seven is lucky. Some say it's a Badwi or Bidawi (Bedouin) dish. Others say any cook with seven vegetables makes this dish.

I chose my seven based on what I had and also the other dishes I was thinking of making. I knew that my guests liked piquant dishes so I planned on making a few along with a side of harisa. I decided a mild version of couscous with seven vegetables would be a nice contrast to the heat and spice of the soups in particular. I also did not want to add eggplant, tomatoes and peppers because I was making Badenjal chteta or Badenjal zaloka (eggplant ratatouille*).

 

Ingredients:

Pumpkin (carefully peel with a very sharp knife. peel away from your body)
Citrouille

Zucchini
Courgette

Fennel
Fenouil

Parsnip
Panais

Cauliflower (I MUCH prefer carrots, but I did not have any)
Chou-fleur ou carrotte

Kholrabi
Chou-rave

Turnip
Navet

1 onion
1 oignon

Butter
Beurre

Salt
Sel

I really would have preferred to use carrots in this dish. The smell of cauliflower is not one that I like. But these recipes are not about my personal preferences. I will say though that carrots would have been much better for the sweetness. It would have produced a more delicate dish. I also like to add butter to this dish more than olive oil. For me buttered root vegetables are a good thing.

Method:

1) Cut the vegetables as shown. Maghrebi cooking is not about fancy knife cuts. Vegetable cutting is often done directly over the pot or onto the cutting board, not on the cutting board itself. So don't worry about fancy French chef knife cuts here.

2) Some cooks will throw everything into the pot at the same time. Others will add the longer cooking vegetables first. My parsnips were quite thick and tough so I added those in first along with the pumpkin and fennel with about a cup of water. The fennel was also a bit old. I cooked them for about 30 minutes on very low heat, then added the onions, turnips, kohlrabi and cauliflower (carrots would have been better), the butter, seasoned with salt and cooked on low heat until all was tender.

I added a stick of butter for about 2 kilos of vegetables.

Optional spices are saffron, turmeric or cinnamon.

*Don't jump to the conclusion that it's a French influenced dish because of the ratatouille. It is not a French influenced dish at all.

EDIT TO ADD LINK FOR ALANNA Types of couscous and how to prepare them. How to steam packaged couscous.

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Comments

[sana]

salut,

le COUSCOUS en algérie se prépare de mille facons..alors par exemple chaque wilaya (je dis bien wilaya) le prépare d'une maniere qu'on ne trouve pas ailleurs..mais aussi il y a des différences enormes que ca soit dans la semoule ou bien la merka (la sauce) qui peut etre salée, sucrée, blanche, rouge, et meme safranée..avec du miele, des fruits secs..des legumes secs, des legumes frais et meme des fruits frais (le raisin..)avec du lben, du lait du raib...du poulet, mouton, agneau, chameau, merguez, dinde et du poisson..des herbes..et par exemple en kabylie chaque village ou dechra a ses propres recettes..alors ce n'est pas la diversité qui manque.

[taf]

What!?

No chick peas!?

No Harissa!?

Here in Wales they sell merguez sausage for couscous.... 100% pork!!

Not very Halal that is it?

[Hussein]

Nadia save yourself for a Moroccan blog. The Moroccans always come on an Algerian forum to talk junk about stuff. You have nothing better to do?

[Jamila]

Nadia Algerians and Tunisians make it also. You sound like a typical Moroccan. Claiming everything was invented in Morocco. Algerians and Tunisians are tired of your nonsense. Next thing you will say Moroccans cook with olive oil. You know you make your food with too much cheap vegetable oil.

[Nadia]

Couscous with 7 vegetables is speciality from Casablanca region in Morocco

[Alanna]

Where does the couscous come in? It must be cooked separately? But then how is it served? I'm intrigued by all the vegetables together, think it must be really good! AK

[Elvira]

J'aime beaucoup le couscous. J'ai d'ailleurs toujours de gros sacs de semoule à la maison. Je vais désormais m'inspirer de vos ingrédients pour le réussir encore mieux!