Algerian couscous
The dish of Fridays and celebrations in Algeria: semolina steamed over a broth of lamb, chickpeas and vegetables. It’s part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, shared with the rest of the Maghreb.
Ingredients
- 500 g medium-grain couscous
- 700 g lamb, in pieces
- 2 carrots, 2 turnips, 2 courgettes and 1 piece of pumpkin
- 150 g soaked chickpeas
- 1 onion
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon of ras el hanout, pepper and cinnamon
- 50 g butter
- Olive oil and salt
How to make it at home
- Brown the lamb with the chopped onion and the oil, add the grated tomato, the spices and the chickpeas, and cover with 2 litres of water.
- Simmer for 45 minutes and add the carrots and turnips.
- Moisten the semolina with a glass of salted water, rub it between your hands and steam it in the top of the couscoussier, over the broth, for 20 minutes.
- Take it out, separate the grains with a little more water and oil and steam it again for another 20 minutes.
- Add the courgette and pumpkin to the broth for the last 15 minutes.
- Mix the semolina with the butter and serve it on a platter with the meat and vegetables, with the broth on the side.
The trick: Without a couscoussier, a metal colander set over the pot and sealed with a cloth does the same job.