Today I'm taking a small step further north, but don't worry, I'm staying in Africa.
Today's motto is "Couscous with a twist". Why?
When people in Cameroon talk about couscous, they're referring to something completely different from what people in Germany and some other parts of the world understand by couscous. In Cameroon, couscous refers to dumplings made from cornmeal, with a consistency somewhere between dumplings and semolina porridge.
In other West African countries, it's called fufu. In Cameroon, however, fufu refers to couscous made from cassava flour
Couscous as such is “Couscous Algérien” , i.e. Algerian couscous/oriental couscous .
Today I'm serving my couscous with a curry sauce made with chickpeas, so it's also suitable for vegetarians.
Since we've had a good chat about it and you now know the difference, let's get to know Algerian couscous
Ingredients:
For the sauce
- 200g cherry tomatoes
- 200g pre-cooked chickpeas
- 1/3 red, yellow and green bell peppers
- 1 finger of fresh ginger
- 1 finger of fresh turmeric
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 large onion
- Salt
- 1 tsp white peppercorns
- Cooking oil
- 200ml water
For the couscous
- 200g couscous (medium grain)
- Salt
- approx. 200ml broth
- 50ml oil
- 1 stick of butter
Preparation:
For the sauce:
- Roughly grind ginger, turmeric, pepper, and garlic in a mortar or blender
- Place onions, salt and cooking oil in a pot and sauté for about 2 minutes
- Add quartered cherry tomatoes and sauté for about 5 minutes
- Add the bell peppers and sauté for another 5 minutes
- Add the pre-cooked chickpeas, the pureed curry paste mixture and water, simmer for about 5 minutes, season to taste and it's ready!
For the couscous
- Pour cooking oil into a saucepan
- Add couscous and salt and fry for about 2 minutes, stirring regularly
- Remove from heat, add stock, stir well and add more water if necessary, season to taste and let stand covered for about 5 minutes.
- Then add a piece of butter, mix well again and you're done!
Serve the couscous with the hot curry sauce.
Et voilà! Bon appétit!
Veggie curry with chickpeas and couscous
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 200g cherry tomatoes
- 200g precooked chickpeas
- 1/3 red, yellow and green bell peppers (each)
- 1 Finger fresh ginger
- 1 Finger fresh turmeric
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 large onion
- 1 tsp white peppercorns
- 100 ml cooking oil
- 200ml water
For the couscous
- 200 g couscous (medium grain)
- 200 ml vegetable broth
- 50 ml cooking oil
- 1 piece of butter
Instructions
For the sauce:
- Roughly grind ginger, turmeric, pepper, and garlic in a mortar or blender
- Place onions, salt and cooking oil in a pot and sauté for about 2 minutes
- Add quartered cherry tomatoes and sauté for about 5 minutes
- Add the bell peppers and sauté for another 5 minutes
- Add the pre-cooked chickpeas, the pureed curry paste mixture and water, simmer for about 5 minutes, season to taste and it's ready!
For the couscous
- Pour cooking oil into a saucepan
- Add couscous and salt and fry for about 2 minutes, stirring regularly
- Remove from heat, add stock, stir well and add more water if necessary, season to taste and let stand covered for about 5 minutes.
- Then add a piece of butter, mix well again and you're done!
