Algerian cuisine, like the very country itself, features many culinary influences, most notably, Berber, Arabic, French and Turkey. This mix of influences creates a blend of flavors, aromas and textures, something that is uniquely Algerian. The dishes and ingredients differ slightly from region to region, with each region having their own specialties.
Because 99% Algerians are Muslim, you wouldn't find any pork in Algerian cuisine. The favored meat is lamb, with chicken coming in a distant second. The staple food in Algeria is couscous, usually served spicy, and khbaz, a traditional Arabic flatbread. Other ingredients used in Algerian cuisine tends to be along the Mediterranean diet, featuring tomatoes, lentils, peppers, eggplants, olives, oranges and lemons. Seafood dishes can be found along the coast, and always feature fresh ingredients. Dates, fresh fruit and pastries are the typical deserts. If you try Algerian cuisine, and you know your spices well, you'll realize that the most common spices used for cooking are various kinds of dried red chilies (for that spiciness!), cumin, caraway, marjoram, coriander, fennel and black pepper.
Couscous:
Couscous is one of Algeria's most famous dishes and is probably as old as the Algerians themselves. It is considered a staple food and is usually served spicy. Couscous is actually a type of fine grain, which is produced from semolina wheat, and is consumed with meat and vegetables. Other countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, and even France have their own version of this dish.
The Ingredients:
- 400-450 g packaged couscous 200 g of fresh green string beans
- 500 g dried chickpeas 250 g of canned artichoke bottoms, drained
- 2 brown onions, chopped 100 g of butter
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 carrot, sliced 1 pimento
- 1 green capsicum, sliced 4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 1 eggplant, sliced, rinsed and salted 2 tablespoons of paprika
- 450 g lamb, cut into 2x2 inch cubes Salt (according to your tastes)
- 1 small chicken, cut into 8 parts Cayenne pepper (according to your tolerance for spiciness!)
The Instructions:
Place the couscous in a shallow pan and fill it up with 4 cups of water. Swirl it around a bit, then pour off the water using a sieve. Gently rub the couscous between your hands as you return it to the pan, to break up any lumps. Leave it aside to dry.
Now, gently fry the onions, garlic, capsicum, carrot and eggplant with the chicken and lamb in the olive oil. This will be the base for your stew. Add the dried chickpeas into the pan, and place just enough water to cover the chickpeas. Add pimento, paprika, salt and Cayenne pepper to taste. Bring the pan to a boil, and then let it simmer.
Fill a kettle/pot up with some water. Fasten the colander over the kettle/pot. Spoon the couscous into the colander. Put the kettle/pot on the stove, bring it to a boil, and let the couscous steam for 45 minutes.
After that, dump the couscous into the couscous pan again to let it dry. Add the tomatoes and beans into the other pan, the simmering one, and let it go on simmering for another 30 minutes. You want to make sure that you don't overcook the meat and chickpeas in this pan; the goal is to let the simmering soften up the meat and chickpeas.
After that, you can lower the heat on the stew pan. Then, do the whole couscous steaming thing again for another 15 minutes. Add the canned artichoke bottoms to the stew. Continue letting the stew simmer for another 5-6 minutes. Add the butter to the couscous and place the couscous on a serving platter. Surround it with the meat, vegetables and gravy.
Note: This process may seem time consuming; it is due to couscous. There are certain packaged couscous that can cook faster than the normal ones. This will cut down the time needed to cook it. Article Source: Yvonne_C.
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