Today, in many cooking shows on television, you can see how the participants or presenters prepare different couscous dishes. And what is couscous and where did it come from?
It turns out that small grain balls coated with flour were a favorite product in North Africa as early as the 13th century. Today, couscous also continues to be a national dish of North African Arabs, as well as Berbers (desert residents). And Mediterranean cuisine is so inconceivable without this cereal, donated by the Moroccans.
What is couscous, how is it made
The process of making couscous is very laborious, despite the apparent simplicity. Perhaps this is precisely what determines its relatively high price in our supermarkets. Couscous has long been prepared by women. First, the semolina is sprayed with water, then the resulting mass is rubbed by hands, grains are formed, which are then sprinkled with flour. Then the couscous is passed through a sieve and dried. The procedure is repeated several times, as a result of which small balls of golden color appear.
What is couscous and how and with what to eat it
The delicate and pleasant consistency of couscous, as well as its ability to perfectly absorb sauces, makes ready-made dishes from it very tasty. Traditionally, it is cooked over stewed meat, that is, steamed, so couscous absorbs all the flavors, but there will be no excess fat in it. This cereal is good both as a side dish and as an ingredient for warm and cold salads. At the same time, it is very important to observe the harmony of taste when preparing dishes with couscous - cereals, vegetables, meat, and roots should simply melt in your mouth. It is very good to cook couscous in a double boiler, in the lower compartment of which meat (chicken, lamb, beef or fish) with vegetables (pumpkin, onions, carrots, garlic or nuts) is laid, and in the upper compartment there is cereal, where it will be soaked in vegetable and meat spirit.
Couscous can also be an ingredient in a sweet dish. In this case, it is cooked along with dried fruits, nuts, grapes, and sugar, butter and milk are added to the finished dish called “masfuf”.
Well, now we talked about what couscous is. It is time to move on to the practical part. Below are just a couple of recipes with this product, but remember that in the kitchen, not only knowledge and experience are important, but also fantasy. Therefore, you can safely experiment - with couscous, dishes will still be tasty, harmonious and tender.
Couscous with Chicken
Boil chicken meat (200 g), cool and chop it finely. Couscous (200 g) is poured with boiling water (300 ml) and after 10 minutes, loosen with a fork. Pour the couscous with vegetable oil (6 tablespoons), as well as the juice of 2 lemons and 1 lime, mix, leave to cool. During this time, we cut: cherry tomatoes into quarters (150 g), ladies fingers tomatoes (4 pcs.) Into halves, one small red onion, fresh parsley (4 tbsp.), Fresh mint ( 3 tablespoons). Add the remaining ingredients, including chicken, to the cooled couscous, alter and get a surprisingly tasty, satisfying and at the same time light salad.
Couscous with vegetables
Finely chop the carrot (1 pc.) And onions (1 pc.). Pour vegetable oil (4 tablespoons) into a stewpan, put vegetables and fry over medium heat for about 6 minutes. During this time, cut small zucchini into small cubes (200 g will be enough) and a large sweet pepper (you want red, you want yellow) . We put vegetables in a saucepan for carrots with onions and, stirring, fry for another 7-8 minutes (until vegetables are ready). Grind a couple of garlic cloves and add to the fried vegetables. After half a minute, pour water or vegetable broth (400 ml), salt and bring to a boil. We put couscous (200 g) in a saucepan, mix thoroughly, cover the dishes with a lid and remove from heat. After 5 minutes, when the couscous "reaches", loosen it with a fork and serve the dish to the table.