Algerian Cuisine Cuisine Algerienne by Farid ZADI

Plain or Flavored Couscous?

Plain or flavored couscous?

Occasionally I receive emails asking how to flavor couscous to serve with a particular tagine. It's like asking how to flavor pasta before adding a pasta sauce. Why the seasoning overkill? You wouldn't add raisins to pasta before adding a tomato sauce.

In Algeria steamed couscous is usually served plain as the basic starch component of a meal just as plain rice is served in East Asia. The sauce for couscous comes from the accompanying soup, stew or braised dish. There is no need to serve a flavored couscous in this context.

Algerian flavored couscous

Couscous with steamed and buttered vegetables or legumes such as carrots, peas, fava beans, scallion tips, etc... is eaten with lben or a light broth. A gently sweetened couscous with dried fruits and a light dusting of sugar can be served with lben for a light meal. Or a sweeter couscous can be served as a dessert like rice pudding, not something to serve with a savory tagine or even a sweet tagine.

Meat flavored instant couscous made by an Asian company. The packaging is like instant ramen noodles. I guess the idea is to pour hot water over it and cover with the little flap lid for a quick meal.

Pre-flavored Packaged Couscous

Another question I'm asked occasionally is about European brands of flavored couscous and North African recipes written by the French that refer to spice blends as "curry" or suggest using garam masala instead of ras el hanout. I do know that some Algerians in the diaspora substitute "curry" blends and garam masala if they don't have access to ras el hanout. But I think the primary reason (since these products are not made by Algerians and the recipes are not written by Algerians or North Africans) is that the further away ingredients are removed from their source and internalized by other food cultures there will be a greater tendency towards fusion which is quite normal. I don't have any objections to this.

I would not buy couscous flavored with "curry" spices simply because I don't like packaged flavored couscous, it's like serving rice-a-roni with East Asian dishes and not because I think "curry" spices in of themselves don't belong in Algerian cuisine. Besides remember the spice trade and all the things Arabs learned and transported from South Asia.

Algerian Bulgur Couscous, Bulgur Pilaf, Couscous Tabouleh

I posted about different types of couscous here . Visitors to France and readers of French cookbooks have often asked me if tabbouleh made from semolina couscous is an Algerian influence. Yes it is. In Algeria tabbouleh is often made with semolina couscous. Probably because semolina couscous is the most commonly prepared in Algeria and it's an easy way to use up leftovers.

The kind of whole wheat couscous that's available at stores like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods is a purely commercial invention made from wheat flour. It is simply not possible to hand roll couscous from wheat flour, you'd end up dough for bread or pasta. Traditional whole wheat couscous is actually made from cracked wheat products like bulgur. If you like packaged whole wheat couscous try steaming bulgur for couscous. Steaming and buttering bulgur coaxes out the subtle, nutty flavor while helping the grains retain their shape. It's almost as if each grain was cooked individually. If you like bulgur pilaf, you'll be wild about bulgur couscous. It's an earthy and elegant dish.

I used #2 bulgur for this. In my previous post about couscous I used #1 which is finer.

Bulgur couscous can be eaten hot, at room temperature or cold. On hot summer days I like it chilled with a cold glass of lben (buttermilk, kefir or thin yogurt). It makes a refreshing light meal.

Bulgur pilafs are very easy to make. They can be seasoned very delicately or robustly to taste. You can steam baby vegetables such as carrots, zucchini and peas in a couscousier than season them with salt and butter then gently mix them into the bulgur. A more robust version can include a tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms. 

Unlike Middle Eastern tabbouleh, the Algerian version is not defined by the amount of parsley used. Ours is about the goodness of whole grain. Prepare a salsa tomatich (tomato salsa) with chopped firm tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, lots of flat leaf parsley, and ramps (or scallions) seasoned with salt, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. You can add any Mediterranean vegetable that tastes good raw or lightly cooked to an Algerian tabbouleh.

The ratio of vegetables to couscous used for pilavs and tabbouleh varies quite a bit. It's really about adjusting to personal taste and available ingredients.

 

Algerian Couscous Varieties

(Types of couscous clockwise from top: millet, corn, durum wheat semolina, bulgur wheat, burkukis and barley in the center)

A cookbook on Algerian cooking must begin with couscous. My family simply refers to it as ta'am Arabic for food or seksu the original Kabylie word for couscous. Elsewhere is is also called kesksou, more on this later

Couscous is the French spelling of Arabic kuskus, also called kuskusu.

Couscous refers to the grains that I listed or semolina 'pasta' that are steamed in a couscoussier as well as the finished dish. The Kabylie word for couscoussier is aseksut.

Paula Wolfert posted an excellent article about hand rolling couscous and I posted about steaming pre-made packaged couscous.

How To Steam Couscous

Packaged Couscous , Roll Your Own...Couscous and Bulghur Wheat Couscous.

If you like whole wheat couscous try the bulghur wheat, it has a delicious nutty flavor.

How to roll your own couscous with step by step photos!

I'm bumping up this post to highlight the last link. It has step by step photos on how to roll your own couscous. There is nothing else like it online!

Crimes Against Couscous

When I feel like laughing or crying I google recipes for couscous. The vast majority are junk. Look at the source please before trying the recipe. Another thing I've noticed is that many, many celebrity chefs feel compelled to publish at least one couscous recipe. Couscous salads seem to be the most common. Of course I'm delighted that couscous is becoming increasingly popular in different parts of the world and it's none of my business to tell someone what they can or cannot do with couscous.

If you want to eat delicious couscous it must be steamed at least 2-3 times. There really is no other way. I will say though that the boil in the bag couscous tend to be better than following the packaged instructions. But if you follow the package directions and dump hot water, cover and fluff with a fork the product will not be good. If you are chef who has published such a recipe I really hope you don't prepare it like that in your restaurant. Try steaming it 2-3 times using my directions for packaged couscous, your customers will thank you for it.

Okay, I've been googling more. It looks like every Tom, Dick and Harry site has a couscous recipe! Maghrebis and couscous fans UNITE, email them, tell them how couscous should be prepared!!!!

Seksu Khoubbiz, Couscous with Lavender, Couscous au Lavande

I left my camera somewhere and will not have it until tomorrow morning. So there go my plans to take photos of ghribia. I'll present a sweet couscous dish that is not well known. It's actually a very simple variation.

Ingredients:

500 gr of cooked couscous
500 gr de couscous cuit

1 tablespoon of lavender flowers, discard the stem
1 cuillere a soupe de fleur de lavande

1/4 cup of confectioner's sugar
25 gr de sucre glace

Method:

1) After the final couscous steaming add the lavender and dust with confectioner's sugar. Paula Wolfert's recipe for a sweet couscous with raisins. In Algeria we call couscous with raisins simply mesfouf, mesfouf b'z-zbib or seffa b'z-zbib. There are possibly more variations in what it's called.

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*).