Cuisine Of The Maghreb

Maghreb cuisine is the cooking of the Maghreb region, the northwesternmost part of Africa along the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of the countries of Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia.

The region has a high degree of geographic, political, social, economic and cultural diversity which influences its cuisine and culinary style.

Well-known dishes from the region include couscous, pastilla, and the tajine stew.

The cuisine of the Maghreb, the western region of North Africa that includes the five countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania, is by origin Berber and Arab.

The cuisines of Algeria, Tunisia and Libya have in addition been influenced by French and Italian cuisine respectively.

In Maghrebi cuisine, the most common staple foods are wheat for khobz bread and couscous, fish, seafood, goat, lamb, beef, dates, almonds, olives and various vegetables and fruits.

Because the region is predominantly Muslim, halal meats are usually eaten. Most dishes are spiced, especially with cumin, ginger, paprika, cinnamon and saffron.

Fresh peppermint, parsley, or coriander are also very common. Spice mixtures such as ras el hanout, baharat, and chili pastes like harissa especially in Tunisia are frequently used.

The use of legumes, nuts, fruits and spices is very prominent. Salt-preserved lemons or l'hamd mrakad and so-called oil-cured olives are distinctive elements of the cuisine.

The best-known Maghrebi dish abroad is couscous, made from wheat semolina. The tajine, a cooking vessel made of clay of Berber origin, is also a common denominator in this region, although the dishes and preparation methods vary widely.

For example, a tajine in Tunisia is a baked quiche-like dish, whereas in Morocco it is a slow-cooked stew.

Pastilla is also an important Arab-Andalusian dish of the region.

North African cuisine is the product of a whole host of historical, cultural and topographical factors. Ancient trade routes, links with Europe, and a waterless climate have all influenced tastes from Algeria and Morocco in the west to Egypt in the east.

The cuisine of North Africa is packed full of colorful spice mixtures, as cities like Sfax in Tunisia are home to large spice markets.

Brik

Brik is a Tunisian dish consisting of thin pastry around a filling, commonly deep fried.

The best-known version is the egg brik, a whole egg in a triangular pastry pocket with chopped onion, tuna, harissa and parsley.

With a slightly different shape, but with identical ingredients and method of preparation, the Tunisian brik is known in Algeria as bourek.

Brik pastry is made by slapping a sticky lump of dough onto a hot non-stick surface in overlapping circles to produce the desired size and cooked for a short amount of time.

The brik dough sheets are referred to as malsouka or Warka.

Typical fillings include tuna, ground meat, raw egg, chicken, or anchovies garnished with harissa, capers, or cheese.

Pastilla or B’stilla

B’stilla, sometimes also known as pastilla, is a Moroccan dish. Its origins are said to be in Fez and date all the way back to the period of the Umayyad Caliphs in the eight century.

B’stilla generally consists of a sweet and sour pigeon pie, but can also be made with chicken or quail.

Typically served as a starter on big occasions, the b’stilla is filled with the pigeon meat, onions and spices like saffron and coriander, before almonds and beaten eggs are added.

It’s all wrapped up in thin warqa pastry that gets very crispy when cooked.

Pastilla is a traditional Andalusian dish consumed in countries of the Maghreb. Andalusian people who migrated to Fez have popularized the dish throughout Morocco.

It has also spread recently to Algeria and Tunisia. Pastilla is said to be uniquely Moroccan, intricate and grand, fabulously rich and fantastical.

The name of the pie comes from the Spanish word pastilla, meaning in modern Spanish either pill or small pastry after the transformation of the phoneme p into b that is specific to the Arabic language.

It is an elaborate meat pie traditionally made of squab or fledgling pigeons. As squabs are often hard to get, shredded chicken is more often used today; pastilla can also use fish or offal as a filling.

Pastilla is generally served as a starter at the beginning of special meals

Classic savoury pastilla. It is a pie which combines sweet and salty flavours; a combination of crisp layers of the crepe-like werqa dough.

This a thinner cousin of phyllo dough, savory meat slow-cooked in broth and spices and then shredded, and a crunchy layer of toasted and ground almonds, cinnamon, and sugar.

The filling is made a day ahead, and is made by browning the meat pieces in oil. The pieces are then transferred to a bowl, and with the remaining oil, onions, water, parsley, and various spices are cooked.

The liquid is then chilled, and after, thickened to form a custard-like sauce with beaten eggs. The flesh and skin from the bones is shredded and added to the sauce, and it is chilled overnight.

In a round pizza pan, the first dough layer is added, and butter brushed onto it. The cook adds the sauce over the dough, and places two more sheets on top.

It is then baked, sprinked with confectioner's sugar and perhaps more cinnamon, and served.

Pastilla with milk. In the traditional fassi cuisine, pastilla can also be served as a dessert, in which case, the pastilla is called Jowhara or Pastilla with milk.

The pastilla is also made of warka and a milky cream put between the sheets. The Johara can also be flavored with orange flower water.

Tajine

Tajine is perhaps the most famous Berber dish. It takes its name from the earthenware pot in which it is cooked.

The tajine has a conical top so that the juices and water aren’t lost during cooking ,an important consideration in desert areas where there are so few water sources.

The tajine dish is a slow cooked stew and can be made up of all sorts of ingredients, chicken, lamb, beef, fish or vegetables, stewed with spices and dried fruit and served with couscous and breads.

A tajine or tagine is a Maghrebi dish which is named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. It is also called a Maraq/marqa in North Africa.

The tagine dates back to Harun al-Rashid who was a ruler of the Early Muslim conquests.

The earliest writings about the concept of cooking in a tajine appear in the famous Alf layla wa layla - One Thousand and One Nights, an Arabic story collection from the 9th century.

It is also mentioned during the times of the Islamic reign of the Abbasid Empire, stretching from the Middle East/Asia to North Africa and Andalusia during the 9th century.

The dish would have been already famous amongst the nomadic Bedouin people of the Arabian Peninsula, who added dried fruits like dates, apricots and plums to give it its unique taste.

Tagine is often eaten with french fries, either on the top or on the side.

Today, the cooking-pot and its traditional broth is primarily prepared in the Middle East and North Africa. In North Africa it is called a Tajine, while in the Middle East it is called a maraq (broth) or a qidra (cooking pot).

There are different ways to prepare the tajine. In the original qidra style saman, clarified butter is used to lubricate the surface and a puree of chopped onion is added for flavour and aroma.

For muqawlli style cooking, the ingredients are placed in olive oil to enrich the flavours.

There are many descriptions of how to prepare a tajine from Arab scholars from the mid-centuries. A famous description is the one from Ibn al-Adim:

Boil the meat and fry with fresh coriander, onions and hot spices and a little garlic.

Then pick out the fennel hearts and cut in half. Put over the meat. Put back some of the broth on it along with sheep's tail. Boil until cooked and the broth has been absorbed. Remove from the heat.

The traditional tajine pottery, sometimes painted or glazed, consists of two parts: a circular base unit that is flat with low sides and a large cone or dome shaped cover that sits on the base during cooking.

The cover is designed to return all condensation to the bottom. That process can be improved by adding cold water into the specially designed well at the top of the lid.

Tajine is traditionally cooked over hot charcoal leaving an adequate space between the coals and the tajine pot to avoid having the temperature rise too quickly.

Large bricks of charcoal are used, specifically for their ability to stay hot for hours. Other methods are to use a tajine in a slow oven or on a gas or electric stove top, on the lowest heat necessary to keep the stew simmering gently.

A diffuser, a circular utensil placed between the tajine and the flame, is used to evenly distribute the stove's heat.

European manufacturers have created tajines with heavy cast-iron bottoms that can be heated on a cooking stove to a high temperature, which permits the browning of meat and vegetables before cooking.

Tajine cooking may be replicated by using a slow cooker or similar item, but the result will be slightly different.

Many ceramic tajines are decorative items as well as functional cooking vessels. Some tajines, however, are intended only to be used as decorative serving dishes.

Moroccan and Algerian tajine dishes are slow-cooked savory stews, typically made with sliced meat, poultry or fish together with vegetables or fruit.

Spices, nuts, and dried fruits are also used. Common spices include ginger, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, and saffron. Paprika and chili are used in vegetable tajines.

The sweet and sour combination is common in tajine dishes like lamb with dates and spices. Tajines are generally served with bread.

Because the domed or cone-shaped lid of the tajine pot traps steam and returns the condensed liquid to the pot, a minimal amount of water is needed to cook meats and vegetables.

This method of cooking is practical in areas where water supplies are limited or where public water is not yet available.

What Tunisians refer to as a tajine is very different from the Moroccan dish. Tunisian tajine is more like an Italian frittata or an eggah.

First, a simple ragout is prepared, of meat cut into very small pieces, cooked with onions and spices, such as a blend of dried rosebuds and ground cinnamon known as baharat or a robust combination of ground coriander and caraway seeds; this is called tabil.

Then something starchy is added to thicken the juices. Common thickeners include cannellini beans, chickpeas, breadcrumbs or cubed potatoes.

When the meat is tender, it is combined with the ingredients which have been chosen to be the dominant flavouring. Examples include fresh parsley, dried mint, saffron, sun-dried tomatoes, cooked vegetables and stewed calves' brains.

Next, the stew is enriched with cheese and eggs. Finally, this egg and stew is baked in a deep pie dish, either on the stove or in the oven until top and bottom are crisply cooked and the eggs are just set.

When the tajine is ready, it is turned out onto a plate and sliced into squares, accompanied by wedges of lemon. Tunisian tajines can also be made with seafood or as a completely vegetarian dish.

In rural parts of Tunisia, home cooks place a shallow earthenware dish over olive-wood coals, fill it, cover it with a flat earthenware pan, and then pile hot coals on top.

The resulting tajine is crusty on top and bottom, moist within and is infused with a subtle smoky fragrance.

Shakshouka

Shakshouka, or chakchouka, is a Tunisian dish that has spread across North Africa and is popular in Israel, as well, having been taken there by Maghrebi Jews. It can be served for breakfast, lunch or as part of the evening meal.

It’s one of the most colorful of the dishes on this list and is made up of chopped onions, chili peppers, tomatoes and cumin, cooked in a skillet to form a rich sauce in which a couple of eggs are poached.

Add some chopped parsley to the top.

Shakshouka or chakchouka is a dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, and onions, often spiced with cumin. Its present egg and vegetable-based form originated in Tunisia.

It is popular in the Middle East and North Africa.

The word Shakshouka from Tunisian Arabic, itself derived from the Arabic transilated shakka, meaning stick together, clumped together, adhere or cohere.

Shakshouka is a staple of Arab cuisine which Libyan, Tunisian, Algerian, Moroccan, Egyptian, Saudi, Levantine and Israeli cuisines, traditionally served in a cast iron pan or tajine as in Morocco with bread to sop up the tomato sauce.

Although the dish is not native to the Levant, it was brought to Israel by Maghrebi Jews as part of the mass Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim lands.

Here it has become a staple due to Israel's large Tunisian Jewish, Algerian Jewish and Moroccan Jewish communities.

Tunisian cooks have added artichoke hearts, potatoes and broad beans to the dish. Because eggs are the main ingredient, it is often on breakfast menus, but in Israel, it is also a popular evening meal.

It may challenge hummus and falafel as a national favourite, especially in the winter.

Going by some food historians, the dish was invented in the Ottoman Empire, spreading throughout the Middle East and Spain, where it is often served with spicy sausage.

Another belief is that it hails from Yemen, where it is served with Sahawiq, a hot green paste.

Some versions include salty cheeses but traditional recipes are very basic, consisting merely of crushed tomatoes, hot peppers, garlic, salt, paprika, olive oil and poached eggs.

Ful Medames

Ful medames is the national dish of Egypt and a common street food in cities like Cairo and Giza. You’ll also find it served in much of North Africa and the Middle East.

Ful medames is a dish of fava beans, cooked in a pot and then served with vegetable oil and cumin, garlic, onions, peppers and hard boiled eggs. There’s evidence that as early as the 4th century it was being offered on the streets of Cairo.

Ful medames is a dish of cooked fava beans served with vegetable oil, cumin, and optionally with chopped parsley, garlic, onion, lemon juice, chili pepper and other vegetable, herb and spice ingredients.

It is notably a staple food in Egypt, especially in the northern cities of Cairo and Gizah. Ful medames is also a common part of the cuisines of many Arab, Middle Eastern and African cultures.

Including in Djibouti, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Palestine, Jordan, Israel, Ethiopia, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia and Saudi Arabia.

Ful medames was exported from Egypt to other parts of the Arab world, as well as other parts of Africa and Asia, but particularly to Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Israel, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Libya.

Ful is a popular breakfast dish in Syria, especially Aleppo. The fava beans are left simmering in large copper jars throughout the night, to be served from the next morning on.

The beans swim in tahini and olive oil, completed with a hint of red pepper paste made from Aleppo pepper over the top.

Ful is a very common dish in Armenia; however, unlike in most Middle Eastern countries, it is there modified with more exclusive and rare spices.

In Ethiopia and Eritrea, ful is eaten with a pancake-like bread called injera. Ful is served with standard flour bread, often providing a communal kitchen for patrons seeking to bake such types of breads.

The beans are topped, or mixed with, a combination of oil and berbere. It is also part of the Somali cuisine, where it is served with Somali's traditional laxoox, canjeero/injera.

In Malta, ful bit-tewm - beans with garlic is usually associated with fasting during Lent and Good Friday.

The beans are soaked in water overnight, cooked in oil with garlic and fresh or dried mint, then dressed with olive oil or vinegar before serving.

Ghoriba

A ghoriba also spelled ghribia, ghraïba, or ghriyyaba is a type of cookie prepared in the Maghreb and other parts of the Middle East. It is a round, shortbread cookie made with flour, sugar, butter, and usually almonds.

It is often served with coffee or Maghrebi mint tea. They are similar to polvorones from Andalusia and qurabiya from Iran.

It is served variant in various countries:

Algeria

- Ghribia with almonds

- Ghribia with peanuts

- Ghribia with walnuts

- Ghribia with pistachios

Morocco

Ghoriba in Moroccan Arabic.

- Mlouwza, made with almonds and sugar flavored with orange flower water

- Ghoriba bahla

- Ghoriba dyal zite

- Ghoriba mramla

Tunisia

- Ghraiba in Tunisian Arabic.

- Ghraiba bidha, made with wheat flour

- Ghraiba droo, made with sorghum flour

- Ghraiba homs, made with chickpea flour

L’hamd Marakad

L’hamd marakad, the pickled lemon, is an essential ingredient in Moroccan cooking, served as part of tajine and couscous recipes, as one the main ingredients in salads and plates of vegetables or as a means of flavoring chicken dishes.

It should be made using citron beldi, the traditional Moroccan lemons of the doqq or boussera varieties.

The lemons are quartered and preserved in water, lemon juice and salt and left to ferment and soften for four to five weeks.

After that, the rinds, in particular are valued for their intense flavor.

M’hanncha

M’hanncha is sometimes known as the Moroccan snake or snake cake.

It’s a dessert made up of a whirl of coiled filo pastry hence the name.

The pastry is rolled out to form a long tube and filled with almond paste and flavored with orange flower water and pistachio; cinnamon is sprinkled onto the cooked filo.

Harira

Harira is a soup served in Algeria and Morocco. It is always eaten during the Holy Month of Ramadan, when the fast is broken at sunset.

Or it can be eaten throughout the year as a snack or appetizer. There’s no set method or recipe for making harira.

It can be made with pieces of lamb, chicken or beef, though it’s normally mixed with lentils, chickpeas and tomatoes.

Extra spices like ginger, cinnamon and turmeric are often added, with a dash of lemon juice. Harira is typically served with chebakia, a traditional Moroccan sesame cookie.

Harira is a traditional soup of the Maghreb region, consumed in Morocco and western Algeria.

It is popular as a starter but is also eaten on its own as a light snack. There are many variations and it is mostly served during Ramadan, although it can be made throughout the year.

Harira's base-recipe is composed of the following ingredients, and may vary depending on regions:

- Tadouira, a thickening mixture made from flour and water and sometimes canned tomato paste, which is added at the end of the harira cooking process.

- tomatoes and tomato concentrate

- lentils

- chickpeas

- onions

- rice

- beaten eggs

- herbs, celery, parsley and coriander.

- spices, mainly saffron, ginger, and pepper.

- small amount of meat: beef, lamb or chicken.

- a spoon or two of olive oil.

- Lemon juice can also be added at serving time as well as salt and turmeric.

It is usually served with hard-boiled eggs sprinkled with salt and cumin, dates and other favorite dried fruits like figs, traditional honey sweets and other home-made special breads or crepes.

Matbucha

Matbucha is another North African dish that has spread to Israel and Syria.

It’s normally served as an appetizer with bread and olives, and it consists of a thick dip made with tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic and chili pepper, cooked together until they form an oily paste ideal for dipping or serving on flatbreads.

The importance of tomatoes in matbucha means the dish can date back no further than the early 19th century, as tomatoes were introduced to North Africa and the Middle East at that time by the British Consul in Aleppo, John Barker.

North African cuisine is the product of a whole host of historical, cultural and topographical factors.

Ancient trade routes, links with Europe, and a waterless climate have all influenced tastes from Algeria and Morocco in the west to Egypt in the east.

Famously, the cuisine of North Africa is packed full of colorful spice mixtures, as cities like Sfax in Tunisia are home to large spice markets.

Matbukha

Matbukha is a cooked dish of tomatoes and roasted bell peppers seasoned with garlic and chili pepper. The name of the dish originates from Arabic and means cooked salad.

It is served as an appetizer, often as part of a meze. Matbukha is popular across the Maghreb and in Israel, to where it was brought by Jewish immigrants from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya.

Mhadjeb

Mhadjeb, or mahjouba, is a staple of Algerian cooking and a common street food in Algiers and Oran.

You’ll sometimes find it in recipe books as Algerian crepes. In essence, mhadjeb is a crepe filled with a paste of tomatoes and chopped vegetables like carrots, onions and chilis which have been simmered.

A street vendor will place a piece of flat dough on the skillet, add the paste, and fold the dough into a square to cook.

Mechoui

Mechoui is the traditional North African roast — a whole lamb roasted on a spit or in a pit dug into the ground.

The meat is served with flatbreads and dips and yogurt. The meat from the head, such as the cheeks and eyes, and the offal is regarded as a delicacy and is handed out to guests in attendance at the meal.

You can replicate the mechoui at home with just a shoulder of lamb roasted with spices like cumin, coriander and thyme.

In the cuisine of Northern Africa, Méchoui is a whole sheep or a lamb spit-roasted on a barbecue. The word comes from the Arabic word sawa, which means grilled, roasted. This dish is very popular in North Africa.

In Algeria and Morocco , the term mechoui refers to the method of cooking a lamb or a sheep cooked whole on the spit.

In Tunisia , however, it applies to any piece of meat or fish grilled with embers.

Mechoui is a dish served at the beginning of the meal, as part of a feast or diffa . With the fingers of the right hand, the host takes pieces of grilled meat and offers them to guests.

Traditionally, no cutlery is used to serve a mechoui, because, due to the slow cooking of the meat, should be able to be detached without any effort.

The nomadic populations, in addition to their main herd often composed of several thousand sheep, raise a small number of male lambs specifically for mechoui, feeding them with cheih, a species of wild mugwort which gives the lamb a distinctive character.

After having slaughtered and dismembered the young lamb, all the organs of the stomach cavity are removed, with the exception of the kidneys.

This cavity is stitched after being sprinkled with spices, particularly ras el hanout.

The lamb is skewered on a tree branch and cooked next to a pile of embers. The spindle is rotated slowly and evenly so as to ensure evenly distributed cooking.

The prepared lamb is not placed directly above the embers, for the melting fat could ignite and char the outer flesh. The cooking is started gently, so that the interior cooks almost at the same time as the outside.

During cooking, the meat is brushed with melted butter or oil , to make it crispy. Gradually, the lamb is brought close to the hot embers, so that the flesh takes on an amber color.

The cooking time varies according to the weight of the animal, typically about a quarter of an hour per kilogram.

Mechoui is prepared, especially in Morocco, by digging a vertical hole, or by constructing an earthen oven, 0.8 to 1 meter in diameter and 1.5 to 2 meters deep. Wood is stacked in this cavity and burns for five or six hours.

When the earth surrounding the hole is smoking and the wood is transformed into embers and ashes, most of it is removed to avoid flare-ups.

The prepared lamb is added to the oven vertically and enclosed with a lid covered with clay, mud, or wet sand, sealing the lid as well as possible.

Cooking lasts four to five hours. When the lamb is done, the hardened cover is broken to remove the lamb from the oven.

Traditionally, mechoui is served with cumin and salt, either on a plate or in a decorative serving dish. The diners sprinkle salt and cumin to taste on the lamb before eating.

Couscous

Couscous is the staple food of North Africa, a traditional Berber dish of steamed semolina that can be served as an accompaniment with tajine, with plates of vegetables, or eaten by itself.

There are lots of regional variations on couscous you can add harissa sauce; serve it with almonds, sugar and cinnamon for a dessert; or add lamb, chicken and meatballs with a touch of saffron to form couscous royale.

Couscous is a Maghrebi dish of small, about 3 millimetres (0.12 in) diameter steamed balls of crushed durum wheat semolina that is traditionally served with a stew spooned on top.

Pearl millet and sorghum especially in the Sahel and other cereals can be cooked in a similar way and the resulting dishes are also sometimes called couscous.

Couscous is a staple food throughout the North African cuisines of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Libya, Egypt, and Sicily to a lesser extent.

In Western supermarkets, it is typically sold in instant form with a flavor packet, and may be served as a side or on its own as a main dish.

The original name may be derived from the Arabic word Kaskasa, meaning to pound small or the Berber Seksu, meaning well rolled, well formed, or rounded.

Numerous different names and pronunciations for couscous exist around the world.

It is sometimes pronounced kuskusi in Arabic, while it is known in Morocco as seksu ; kesksu or in Algeria as kosksi literally meaning food ; in Tunisia and Libya kosksi or kuseksi , in Egypt kuskusi, Sicily cuscusu and keskes in Tuareg.

The origin of couscous appears to be in the region from eastern to northern Africa where Berbers used it as early as the 7th century.

Recognized as a traditional North African delicacy, it is a common cuisine component among Maghreb countries.

When the traveler arrives in a village the women of the blacks come with anli and milk and chickens and flour of nabaq or lotus, rice, and funi fonio, a type of millet, this is like the grain of mustard and from it kuskusu and porridge are made, and bean flour.

He buys from them what he likes, but not rice, as eating the rice is harmful to white men and the funî is better than it.

Couscous was traditionally made from the hard part of the durum, the part of the grain that resisted the grinding of the millstone.

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 that are too small to be finished granules of couscous fall through the sieve and are again rolled and sprinkled with dry semolina and rolled into pellets.

This labor-intensive process continues until all the semolina has been formed into tiny granules of couscous.

In the traditional method of preparing couscous, groups of women came together to make large batches over several days, which were then dried in the sun and used for several months.

In modern times, couscous production is largely mechanized, and the product is sold in markets around the world.

In the Sahelian countries of West Africa, such as Mali and Senegal, pearl millet is pounded or milled to the size and consistency necessary for the couscous.

Properly cooked couscous is light and fluffy, not gummy or gritty. Traditionally, North Africans use a food steamer called aTaseksut in Berber, kiskas in Arabic or a couscoussier 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.

It is also possible to use a pot with a steamer insert. If the holes are too big, the steamer can be lined with damp cheesecloth.

There is little archaeological evidence of early diets including couscous, possibly because the original couscoussier was probably made from organic materials that could not survive extended exposure to the elements.

In some regions couscous is made from Farina or coarsely ground barley or pearl millet. In Brazil, the traditional couscous is made from cornmeal.

The couscous that is sold in most Western supermarkets has been pre-steamed and dried.

It is typically prepared by adding 1.5 measures of boiling water or stock to each measure of couscous then leaving covered tightly for about five minutes.

Pre-steamed couscous takes less time to prepare than regular couscous, most dried pasta, or dried grains such as rice.

In Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Libya, couscous is generally served with vegetables - carrots, potatoes, turnips, etc. cooked in a spicy or mild broth or stew, and some meat generally, chicken, lamb or mutton.

In Algeria and Morocco it is also served, sometimes at the end of a meal or just by itself, as a delicacy called sfouff. The couscous is usually steamed several times until it is very fluffy and pale in color.

It is then sprinkled with almonds, cinnamon and sugar. Traditionally, this dessert is served with milk perfumed with orange flower water, or it can be served plain with buttermilk in a bowl as a cold light soup for supper.

In Tunisia, it is made mostly spicy with harissa sauce and served with almost everything, including lamb, fish, seafood, beef and sometimes in southern regions, camel.

Fish couscous is a Tunisian specialty and can also be made with octopus, squid or other seafood in hot, red, spicy sauce.

Couscous in Tunisia is served on every occasion; it is also served in some regions mostly during Ramadan, sweetened as a dessert called masfouf.

In Libya, it is mostly served with meat, specifically mostly lamb, but also camel, and very rarely beef, in Tripoli and the western parts of Libya, but not during official ceremonies or weddings.

Another way to eat couscous is as a dessert; it is prepared with dates, sesame, and pure honey, and locally referred to as maghrood.

Israelis typically serve it on occasions and holidays. It was brought by Maghrebi migrants from Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Libya to Israel.

The Israeli foodstuff called ptitim or Israeli couscous is a toasted pasta with several shape variations, including the more common pearled couscous, and the original rice-grain shape, which was nicknamed Ben-Gurion rice.

Unlike other large types of couscous, which are rolled and coated, ptitim is actually an extruded paste that is molded and baked or toasted, giving the product a chewy texture and a unique nutty flavor.

Its appearance resembles large couscous, and the product was named couscous by Osem, its original producer in Israel, and Israeli couscous in the US and worldwide.

In Egypt, couscous is eaten more as a dessert. It is prepared with butter, sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and nuts and topped with cream.

Couscous is also very popular in France, where it is now considered a traditional dish, and has also become common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece.

Indeed, many polls have indicated that it is often a favorite dish. Couscous is served in many Maghrebi restaurants all over the world.

In France, Spain and Italy, the word couscous usually refers to couscous together with the stew.

Packaged sets containing a box of quick-preparation couscous and a can of vegetables and, generally, meat are sold in French, Spanish and Italian grocery stores and supermarkets.

In France, it is generally served with harissa sauce, a style inherited from the Tunisian cuisine.

Indeed, couscous was voted as the third-favourite dish of French people in 2011 in a study by TNS Sofres for magazine Vie Pratique Gourmand, and the first in the east of France.

In North America, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, couscous is available most commonly either plain or pre-flavoured in quick-preparation boxes.

In the United States, it is widely available, normally found in the ethnic or health-food section of larger grocery stores.

There are related recipes in Latin America, where a corn meal mix is boiled and moulded into a timbale with other ingredients.

Among them, cuscuz a popular recipe usually associated with Northeastern Brazil and its diaspora, a steamed cake of corn meal served with sugar and milk, varied meats, cheese and eggs or other ingredients.

In Palestine, maftoul is considered as a special type of couscous but made from different ingredients and a different shape.

It is larger than North African couscous, but is similarly steamed and often served on special occasions in a chicken broth with garbanzo beans and tender pieces of chicken taken off the bone.

Maftoul is an Arabic word derived from the root fa-ta-la, which means to roll or to twist, which is exactly describing the method used to make maftoul by hand rolling bulgur with wheat flour.

Maftoul is a special dish in Palestinian cuisine and not every cook knows how to prepare it. In fact, there is an annual Maftoul Festival which involves a competition held in Bir Zeit every year.

Couscous is distinct from pasta, even pasta such as orzo and risoni of similar size, in that it is made from crushed durum wheat semolina, while pasta is made from ground wheat.

Couscous and pasta have similar nutritional value, although pasta is usually more refined. Pasta is cooked by boiling and couscous is steamed.

Burghul or bulgur is a kind of parboiled dried cracked wheat of similar size to couscous, cooked by adding boiling water and leaving for a few minutes to soften.

Attieke is a variety of couscous that is a staple food in Ivory Coast and is also known to surrounding regions of West Africa, made from grated cassava.

Berkoukes are pasta bullets made by the same process but are larger than the grains of couscous.

In Brazilian cuisine, the cuscuz marroquino is a version, usually eaten cold, of the couscous.

Brazilian cuscuz is usually made out of cornmeal rather than semolina wheat. Another festive moulded couscous dish containing chicken, vegetables, spices, steamed in a mould and decorated with orange slices is called Cuscuz de Galinha.

Kouskousaki, a pasta from Greece and Turkey, that is boiled and served with cheese and walnuts.
In Lebanese cuisine, Jordanian cuisine and Palestinian cuisine, a similar but larger product is known as maftoul or moghrabieh.

Upma, eaten in South India, Western India, and Sri Lanka is a thick porridge made with dry roasted semolina. It also uses vegetables such as peas, carrots, etc.

Mrouzia

Mrouzia is the dish traditionally served during the Eid al-Adha festival in Morocco.

The mrouzia is a very specific type of tajine, made with lamb slaughtered as part of the religious celebration — Eid al-Adha means feast of the sacrifice.

The lamb is cooked in a tajine along with the spice mixture ras el hanout, some honey, saffron, ginger, almonds and raisins. The combination of saffron and ras el hanout gives mrouzia its unique aroma.

Mrouzia is one of the most important dishes of Moroccan cuisine. It is a sweet and salty meat tajine, combining a ras el hanout blend of spices with honey, cinnamon and almonds.

It is also prepared in Tunisia, but in a different manner.

In Morocco, this tajine is one of the traditional dishes of the Eid al-Adha Muslim festival the Festival of Sacrifice.

It is often made of lamb from animals ritually sacrificed during the festival.


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