Moroccan Couscous -- How To with Pictures

[Sackville]

Some time ago, when this forum first started, someone asked how to make Moroccan couscous and I promised I would go through my notes from my time in Morocco and take pictures along the way.

Brahim's Desert Couscous

The main ingredients for the stew:



Pouring water in the dry couscous:



Working it with my hands. This is normally done with two hands, rubbing palms together, but it's impossible to do that and take pictures



I hope you can see the difference in texture even after just one rubbing in of water:



Putting the couscous in my homemade steamer:



The couscous after two steamings, reading to go on top of the pot for the last time:



The final result:

[Derf]

Sackville Girl that looks wonderfull, every time I've made couscous it ends up very stuck together, kinda in clumps, is it the rubbing that makes it nicely separate
In any case I will try this method next time instead of the instructions on the box. Thanks for posting this, I just did some I threw out about 3 days ago, it was really awful and I knew there had to be a way because I love it when I've had it in resturants (It also had a strange smell, could that be that it might be stale, on the shelf too long )

[Sackville]

Derf wrote:
Sackville Girl that looks wonderfull, every time I've made couscous it ends up very stuck together, kinda in clumps, is it the rubbing that makes it nicely separate

Yes, and the steaming. It is very difficult to add too much water this way, whereas it is easy to over water the couscous using the methods often described on the back of boxes. Having said that, this does take longer and may be more fiddly than you are willing to deal with!

[Derf]

Sackville Girl wrote:

Derf wrote:
Sackville Girl that looks wonderfull, every time I've made couscous it ends up very stuck together, kinda in clumps, is it the rubbing that makes it nicely separate

Yes, and the steaming. It is very difficult to add too much water this way, whereas it is easy to over water the couscous using the methods often described on the back of boxes. Having said that, this does take longer and may be more fiddly than you are willing to deal with!

thanks I'd rather take the time and have it come out looking like yours That will be the way I'll try it next time

[rangapeach]

SG, Thank you, thank you....love your pictures. Love your beautiful tagine....(I like Paula Wolfert, too). Thanks for taking the time to show how.

[Sackville]

rangapeach (Petra) wrote:
SG, Thank you, thank you....love your pictures. Love your beautiful tagine....(I like Paula Wolfert, too). Thanks for taking the time to show how.

No problem. If you can buy a couscousiere that is ideal for this. The cheesecloth works but it's a bit fiddly. I don't think they're that expensive and it'll pay off if you like couscous.

[Zurie]

What a wonderful contribution, with those lovely pictures!! Didn't even know photo's could be uploaded to the talk forums! And I am planning to make cous-cous tonight!

[Sackville]

Chef Zee wrote:
What a wonderful contribution, with those lovely pictures!! Didn't even know photo's could be uploaded to the talk forums! And I am planning to make cous-cous tonight!

Have you not been in the photo forum yet??!? You will die of hunger in there!

[Zurie]

Photo forum??? I'm still a newbie on this enormous website!! Will go search for it -- if I can't find it, I'll be back ...

[Zurie]

Can't find a photo forum ....

[Sackville]

You were in it today so you must have found it

http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewforum.zsp?f=18