How often do you eat couscous?

[BACK2MYROOTS]

COUSCOUS GLORIOUS COUSCOUS!

Moroccan couscous is probably the best of all couscouses (so many 'uses!')

I'll tell you a bit more about it in a minute. I can't resist telling you this first.

Years ago, when my dad was with us, my mum always used to ask him 'what do you want for dinner ( al 3sha)'. She did this sometimes immediately after lunch (before it went down completely!) or on his way out to work after la sieste. His response, Allah yarhmu, almost always was ''couscous!'' And he wasn't joking! (This was often followed by protests from my brothers and sisters).

One reason for this is that mum used to know how to cook SO many types of couscous. So, there was el-a7mar w-l-abyadh; bil-l7am, bil-djaj, or bla-l7am. There was also couscous bil-7oot (fish), bil fool, bil 7ummus, bil-khodhra, bla khodhra, bil 7leeb, bil zbeeb (raisins), bil-khorshuf, and couscous mjammar (a favourite). I'm sure there are more...

I know, they're small variations, but they taste very different. So Dad was right. Let's have it as often as possible!

As for Moroccan couscous, all I can tell you is once you've sniffed it and tasted it, you feel in heaven. I am very serious. There's a massive book on Moroccan cuisine, probably out of print by now (Internet?). Borrow it from the library if you can and I dare you, you won't stop dribbling from your mouth.

Never turn down an invitation for a Moroccan couscous.
Anyone agrees?

[nedjma95]

Ok khoya B2MR, and Houda, I don't agree with you both. Don't take me wrong, les gout et les couleurs sa ne se disscute pas mais....Or for the non french speakers, we can not argue on tastes and colors, we can definitely agree to disagree.

I live with a huge moroccan community, and we exchange dinners very often, of course the star of most dishes is the couscous, algerian, moroccan, tunisien or libyan couscous. I lived in paris too, with all north africans, but Algerian couscous is so defenetly not 'BLAND' maybe the person who made it was not having a good day, or was not a good cook.

There is not a huge difference in the Algerian/ Moroccan couscous, it depends of what region it is from, what part of Morocco, or what part of Algeria? Most of it is very similar. The beautiful thing about couscous, is that it's like the humanity, it has different flavors,colors, sauces, many ways of making it, and they are all delicious!.

Some people like it simple, others more fancy, so again it all depends of your taste buds, I personally like all of it, In Algeria we use to make it every Friday, in the US I make it every other Sunday, or when I have my friends over when they request it, and of course every Eid. Again there are some people that can't stand it!

[BACK2MYROOTS]

Welcome back nejma95!

All this talk about couscous is making me want to cook some. Unfortunately, it is so time-consuming. You can get it in dried form in a packet, or in various takeaway meals and 'salads' these days in the UK. They all taste horribe. A few years back, nobody heard of couscous here in the UK. Now, everybody knows what it is. Just think if they tasted the real thing!!

Quick question. I've got a couple of bags of dried couscous (and cracked wheat) in the cupboard. Do they ever 'go bad'? Can I use them just after the use by date?

Thanks

[New_Friend]

I cook cous-cous about 2x/month....when it's on special for $2.99 for the wonderful little boxed "Near Eastern" brand. Especially love the version with pine nuts in, and prepare it with some olive oil from New Zealand...and top it off with Ethiopian spices I get every year from a friend who gets it straight from Jerusalem. Couldn't ask for more without leaving the continent! ; ) And you're right, cous-cous is used in other "cuisines" as well -- Indian, South Asian, Caribbean.....

I really regret not snagging the "couscous.com" URL back in the early 90s!

[FunGirl_London]

when I 've been a good girl my mum cooks it for me as a treat... I am usually very happy when i hear about it n go back home after work running...welah ghir running...
my little bro. 7 y o..is so keen on couscous that we laugh at about how he eats it.... sooo agressively!!!!! i just look at him and say bchwiya...bchwiya baba...
we all lov moroccan way couscous at home... but mum doesnt make it too often as it's tiring for her... unless i help her soooometimes...
the nicest thing about it ..is it has to be shared in a huge plate..or qasriya....and never served separately.. it brings us together and it reminds me of childhood in bled.... sweet

[BACK2MYROOTS]

Do they still serve couscous at weddings in Algeria? The smell of it usually spreads throughout the streets sometimes. All that lamb meat on the bone and all those chick peas and sultanas (Zbeeb).. Yummmmy my tummy! When I was a kid my friends and I used to gate crash at weddings uninvited and stuff ourselves with couscous and 'l7am !! Those were the days...
PS: For couscous with fish (and red sauce), you can't beat the Tunisians!

[FunGirl_London]

one thing about me..
i just can't stand couscous with fish or chicken...
i think couscous was made to be cooked with lamb and 7 vegetables......
yummy again...