VIDEO: How to make couscous

Couscous consists of very small balls of wheat dough that are put into water or steam up. You can buy two varieties of couscous (see below) in Turkish stores or well-stocked grocery departments.

Couscous - traditional but still made quickly

With this variant, you cook normal couscous in a sieve over steam. In some recipes, the couscous is cooked directly in the water. However, it can happen to them that the couscous is cooked, but mushy.

1. Make sure to try this out beforehand: you need a matching, close-meshed sieve and a saucepan. Hang the sieve in the saucepan so that the couscous cooks over the steam from the cooking water.
2. First bring the salt water to a boil in the saucepan.
3. Now distribute the weighed couscous in the sieve and hang it over the boiling water.


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4. Close the lid of the saucepan if possible.
5. Let the couscous soak over the steam for about 10 minutes.
6. Occasionally loosen the couscous with a fork. This ensures that all the wheat balls come into contact with the steam. And the sauce is also better absorbed.
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7. Put the finished couscous in a bowl, loosen it up again and add a little oil or butter underneath.

Alternatively, you can do it with the cooked one vegetables or simply mix with browned onion cubes. With some Arabic dishes it is also common to make the couscous cone-shaped on the plate and with the other dishes, like meat or vegetables. A cup can be very helpful here.
A specialty is to mix some spicy harissa with the finished couscous. However, there are also sweet variants where couscous is served as a dessert.

Quick couscous - this is how you use pre-cooked couscous

The second variant that is now available in many shops is so-called quick couscous. These are already pre-cooked wheat balls that are cooked very quickly.

1. With pre-cooked couscous, you must make sure that you adhere to the ratio of water and couscous indicated on the package. Otherwise, the result will be soupy (too much water that has not been absorbed) or not cooked properly (with too little water). However, you can save the last case by adding water.
2. Put the weighed couscous in a bowl.
3. Heat the measured amount of water to a boil.
4. Pour the boiling water over the couscous and mix the two together thoroughly.
5. Let the dish work for a few minutes.
6. Loosen the couscous with two forks and mix in some oil or butter again.

The water got cold too quickly and the couscous isn't done yet? Simply heat the dish in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and then let the couscous soak out completely.