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Thursday, August 23, 2012

WHAT IS ' COUSCOUS?

WHAT IS ' COUSCOUS?
Bina Trivedi asked " Please can you give the Indian term for Couscous? And also recipe please."
Couscous is a North African Berber dish of semolina traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it.
Cous

cous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia
and Libya.
North African Berber are the indigenous ethnic group of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Most Berber-speaking people
live in Morocco and Algeria.
Cous cous is a species of pasta originating in North Africa. Rather than being in the form of noodles or extruded shapes, cous cous
is granular. The raw pieces are roughly the size of coarse sugar grains.
http://www.dunx.org/persona/food-couscous.html
Numerous different names and pronunciations for couscous exist around the world. Couscous seems to have a North African origin. Archaeological evidence dating back to the 10th century, consisting of kitchen utensils needed to prepare this dish, has been found in this part of the world.
METHOD OF MAKING . ..
The semolina is sprinkled with water and rolled with the hands to form small pellets, sprinkled with dry flour to keep them separate, and then sieved. Any pellets which are too small to be finished granules of couscous and fall through the sieve will be again rolled and sprinkled with dry semolina and rolled into pellets. This process continues until all the semolina has been formed into tiny granules of couscous. This process is very labour-intensive. In the traditional method of preparing couscous, groups of women would come together and make large batches over several days.
These would then be dried in the sun and used for several months.
Properly cooked couscous is light and fluffy, not gummy or gritty. Traditionally, North Africans use a food steamer called ' kiskas ' in Arabic or a couscoussière in French. The base is a tall metal pot shaped rather like an oil jar in which the meat and vegetables are cooked as a stew. On top of the base, a steamer sits where the couscous is cooked, absorbing the flavours from the stew.
The lid to the steamer has holes around its edge so steam can escape.
Couscous is among the healthiest grain-based products.
Couscous is similar to pasta; it is made of semolina, although it
can also be made with barley or corn.
Read more: Http://Www.Veria.Com/Eating-Healthy/Couscous-Health-And-Taste-In-A-Versatile-Pasta-Like-Food#Ixzz24Mao5oOc
The preparation of couscous is one that symbolizes “happiness and abundance,” in the words of one culinary anthropologist.
Another useful link....
http://showmethecurry.com/salad-raita/couscous-salad-healthy-lunch-recipe.html

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