Cooking couscous at home. Other possible options

Another educational material. Only the cooking of two varieties of couscous and a demonstration of its serving. This product is very versatile and gives us many interesting possibilities for its use in cooking.

You can get a detailed description of the product itself in the article about couscous in the "Encyclopedia" - "Products" section.

Both types are easy to cook. It is important to know that classic couscous is neutral in taste properties, and couscous ptitim is a bit like pasta and is not directly couscous. It is better to cook couscous separately from other products. If you just want to boil and eat couscous, then the water in which it will be boiled must be salted. After cooking, add oil: butter or vegetable.

How to cook couscous for a side dish

As such, it does not require cooking. Couscous is steamed with boiling water. Proportions of product and water 1:2. For example, 150 gr. cereals need to take 300 ml. boiling water.

Pour boiling water over the cereal, be sure to cover the container with a lid and wait 5 minutes. You don't need to stir while cooking. You can either pour boiling water over the couscous from a kettle, or pour the couscous into a pot of boiled water. It won't make a difference, I checked.

This is what the finished couscous should look like. Then it can be added to other ingredients or eaten as such.

Couscous ptitim - how to cook

Ptitim is cooked in the same way as rice. Pour water in a ratio of 1:2, salt, bring to a boil and cook covered over low heat for 15 minutes.

It is important to maintain a very low fire, as the bird can "run away" and flood the entire stove.

Periodically open the lid and stir the ptitim, but not often, only 2-3 times during the entire cooking. This is necessary so that it does not stick together or burn to the bottom of the pan.

Please note that the ptitim is still being cooked, but there is practically no water. 1-2 minutes left until the end of cooking.

Couscous molds well and holds its shape. This property can be advantageously used when serving dishes with its use.

Recently, some new products have been more and more often heard - couscous, bulgur, ptitim. All these are varieties of cereals, let's take a closer look at couscous, it is now the most discussed and popular.

Couscous is a specially processed cereal. He has very interesting technology production. Small granules are formed from semolina and slightly moist flour. Then they are sifted through a sieve. Those granules that have fallen through the sieve go for further processing, and those that remain are the future couscous groats. It is dried for 1-2 months, after which it is ready for use. Previously, North African women did all this manually, now there is already a mechanized streamlined process for the production of cereals.

Couscous contains many health benefits human body vitamins and minerals, besides, it is very nutritious and well absorbed.

This cereal can be bought on the shelves of supermarkets, such manufacturers as Yarmarka, Mistral, National, Braviolli have proven themselves in the best way. The assortment includes couscous with additives - with fragrant herbs, with tomatoes.

How to steam couscous for a side dish?

When some housewives ask the question of how to cook couscous for a side dish, it turns out to be not entirely correct. The fact is that this cereal is not boiled, but steamed, that is, it is prepared as easy as shelling pears. The main thing is to keep the proportions right. The ratio should always be 1:2 (1 part couscous requires 2 parts water).

Taste Info Second: cereals

Ingredients

• couscous groats - 1 cup;
• water (boiling water) - 2 cups;
• butter and salt - to your taste.

How to Make Crumbly and Delicious Couscous for a Garnish

Pour the cereal into a deep glass bowl.

Add oil and salt to your taste.

Mix thoroughly.

Pour 1/3 of the volume of water indicated in the recipe. It is very important that you pour not just hot water, but boiling water.

Cover the bowl with a lid, plate, or tighten cling film. Let it stand for 5 minutes.

During this time, the cereal will absorb all the liquid. Open the bowl, pour 1/3 of the boiling water again and let stand for another 5-6 minutes. Repeat the same procedure a third time with the remaining boiling water.

The porridge is ready, you can use it as a side dish. Serve meat, fish, seafood, mushrooms, vegetable dishes with it.

In the same way, couscous porridge is prepared in milk, it can be served at the table with raisins, pieces of dried fruits, candied fruits, nuts.

How to cook couscous in a slow cooker?

We offer a quick, easy and delicious breakfast- crumbly couscous cooked in a slow cooker. You can eat it just like that, without anything. Who needs a more hearty breakfast, add stew or vegetables. Children like it if porridge is seasoned with milk and sugar.

1. Pour water into a multicooker bowl, add salt and stir. Close the lid, set the steam cooking mode by setting the time to 2 minutes.
2. After a couple of minutes, the water will boil, add the cereal and mix.
3. It instantly absorbs water, no need to set any cooking modes. Immediately put the butter in the porridge, close the lid and set the multicooker to the heating mode for 5-10 minutes.

That's all, the couscous in the slow cooker is ready, you can serve the porridge to the table.

Note! There is no fundamental difference in whether you first bring the water to a boil, and then pour the grits into it, or first transfer the couscous into the multicooker cup, and then pour it with boiling water. The result will be the same, do what is more convenient for you.

How to cook couscous in a double boiler?

For the cereals that are sold in our supermarkets, everything is quite simple, you just need to steam the couscous and it is ready to eat. But in the countries of North Africa, it is traditionally cooked in a special double boiler pan. That is, couscous is cooked not on water, but on steam from the broth boiling under it, in which meat, vegetables, and olive oil are placed. Groats have the peculiarity of absorbing all flavors, therefore, in ready-made turns out very tasty.

How to cook couscouscouple at home?

To do this, use a double boiler, a fine sieve, which is installed on an ordinary pan, or a special multicooker bowl for steam cooking(in the hole). This method is quite lengthy, so in Europe it is rarely used, except in national restaurants Moroccan or Tunisian cuisine.

In addition, semi-prepared steamed couscous is sold on the shelves of Europe and Russia, which is enough to pour boiling water over. Although if you want to steam it, then try it, it's really very tasty. When you are going to cook meat, fish or vegetables in a double boiler, place them on the bottom shelf, and at this time you can boil the cereals on the top. Get both the main course and the side dish at once.

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Application in cooking

Some chefs call couscous a transformer because it goes amazingly well with all foods.

Most often, cereals are used to prepare pilaf or a side dish, cook first courses with it, stuff peppers with couscous and meat. They also make delicious salads with it:

• Greek salad with vegetables and couscous. Lung summer dish with diced tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, red onions, ready-made cereals and special dressing.

• Taboula. A light version is made from couscous, tomatoes, mint and parsley. You can make a more satisfying, so-called warm salad, it includes: fried in olive oil chicken breast, eggplant, red onion and zucchini, couscous and fresh herbs.

• Exquisite salad with couscous, sun-dried tomatoes, raisins, shallots, spinach and beet leaves.

• Interesting salad with couscous, dried cranberries, nuts and orange.
• Vegetable salad of tomatoes, corn and bell pepper with couscous, basil, olives and feta cheese.

In fact, as many cooks and housewives exist, you can come up with so many options for salads with couscous. After all, it is harmonious in combination with all products. So fantasize and create new culinary masterpieces in your kitchen.

People living in northern Africa have always been distinguished by their ability to invent and cook amazing dishes. And one of these dishes is couscous - a favorite cereal and dish in Morocco, Libya, Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia and Western Sahara. And, most interestingly, couscous in 2011 was recognized as the third favorite dish of all the French, and the first among the French of the East.

What is couscous

The first written mention of this dish dates back to the 13th century. Then this dish was distributed only in the Maghreb countries. And today couscous is known all over the world. In fact, couscous is not a cereal, but rather a semblance pasta, only very small. Classic couscous is made from wet flour and semolina, hand-formed into small granules and sifted through a sieve. Everything that is smaller than the sieve cells is reprocessed, and the finished granules of the desired size are dried and used for cooking for several months. Usually the preparation of couscous (both pellets and dishes) is the responsibility of women. Of course, today the production of couscous is almost completely mechanized, but in some places it continues to be prepared by hand. Proper couscous is crumbly, light and does not cake.

Couscous Dishes

To properly cook couscous, you need a special steamer. At the bottom there is a compartment for stewing meat with vegetables, on top there is a container where couscous is poured to cook it for a couple. The couscous granules absorb the aromatic steam of the stew and swell to become delicious side dish. In Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, couscous is served with vegetables cooked in spicy meat broth, and with stew chicken or lamb. In Libya, couscous is eaten with lamb or camel meat. Couscous is also good with seafood: octopus and fish. It is added to salads, fried with onions and garlic, put in soups and pies. Couscous can also be used to make sweet dishes. For example, in the same Morocco, a delicacy called “seffa” is prepared from couscous: the couscous is steamed until it swells well, and then sprinkled with almonds, sugar and cinnamon. Serve such couscous with milk or sweet water.

Those who do not know how to cook or do not want to spend a lot of time preparing food prefer couscous. fast food. It is available in portion packs and large boxes, and to prepare it, it is enough to pour boiling water over the couscous and hold it under the lid for a while. Such couscous is eaten with anything: with canned or stewed vegetables, meat of any kind and spicy sauces.

Couscous is a common dish in East Africa and the Middle East. It is made mainly from semolina. It can also be finely ground wheat or barley groats. Couscous dishes, the recipes of which we will give below, have an identical name, often with a mention of a secondary component. It can be vegetables, mushrooms, fish, meat, seafood and even dried fruits. This dish is traditional for Cooking it in broth or water. Couscous, the recipe for which does not require cooking, is made simply and quickly. It is enough to grate the grains with butter, pour hot liquid and leave for a few minutes under the lid. The second cooking method is steaming. It is traditional. As a result, couscous is more crumbly. Basically, we sell ready-made semi-finished couscous (the recipe is identical to the first one). Add a little lemon juice - and we have a wonderful side dish ready. In this article, we'll show you how to make your own couscous. Recipe with photo and detailed description you will find below.

First, let's cook the green - "Tabouleh". We need two hundred grams of couscous, parsley, leaves (about one hundred grams), equal proportions mint and green onion, tomatoes - two pieces, the same amount of sweet peppers and cucumbers, as well as olive oil, lemon juice and spices to taste. IN this case steaming couscous. If you have a steamer, great! But in the absence of such, it is possible to build steam bath and cook on it (cooking time - about 20-30 minutes). You can just pour half-couscous hot water or broth.

Mix thoroughly with a spoon. Then it should be kneaded with your hands to make the couscous loose. Spraying everything lemon juice, mix. Finely chop the greens, cut the vegetables into small cubes, and you can simply tear the lettuce leaves. We combine all the components, salt, pepper and season with a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice. Ready!

The next dish is sweet couscous. The recipe is pretty straightforward. So, let's take five hundred grams of couscous, one hundred and fifty grams of raisins, butter- fifty grams. Sugar, ground cinnamon- taste. Steaming couscous again. Put the raisins in water in advance so that they swell. Then add oil to couscous and mix with raisins. Then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. You can replace the latter with honey. Mix and serve. Bon appetit!

Couscous, the recipe of which we will give below, is a full meal. We will need 250 g of couscous, 300 ml of broth, 2 zucchini, 1 eggplant, 1 sweet red pepper, red onion - 1 piece. And also 4 cloves of garlic, 300 ml of olive or sesame oil, fresh mint, salt and pepper to taste, 1 tsp. cumin and juice of one lemon. Cut the zucchini, onion and eggplant into rings, sprinkle with salt so that they release the juice, and then rinse. Pepper cut into cubes. Mix two tablespoons of oil with finely chopped garlic, onion rings and cumin. Preheat the oven to two hundred degrees and bake the vegetables for about twenty minutes. Pour hot vegetable broth over couscous and leave covered for ten minutes.

In the meantime, mix the remaining oil with chopped mint, garlic, zest and lemon juice. Pour in the sauce prepared vegetables and then spread them on the couscous. This dish can be varied by adding minced chicken. Ready stuffing or finely chopped chicken fillet, salt, pepper, sprinkle with lemon juice. Let marinate for ten to fifteen minutes. Then fry over high heat until golden crust. Simmer under the lid for about twenty minutes - you're done!

Couscous, contrary to popular belief, is not a cereal, but a type of pasta, it is obtained from semolina. Prepared from couscous delicious dishes with the same name. Today we will talk about how to cook them at home.

In fact, there are two types of couscous: the first is traditionally steamed, it turns out to be very crumbly; the second is a semi-finished product, to cook it, you just need to pour boiling water over it for a couple of minutes. In our stores you can often find the second option. Couscous with a small amount lemon juice - great side dish like buckwheat, rice or barley. Recipes of the most popular dishes with couscous - read below.

warm salad with champignons

extraordinary, with amazing taste, I would even say that a rich play of tastes and unusual combination products.

Ingredients for Warm Mushroom Salad

Ingredients for Warm Mushroom Salad Salt (black pepper) Water (or broth) - 250 ml Olive oil - 4 tbsp. l. Sugar - 2 tbsp. l. Almonds - 1 handful. Bacon - 100 g Lemon (1 lemon and lemon juice 2 tablespoons) - 1 pc. Champignons - 300 g Couscous - 150 g

http://www.povarenok.ru/recipes/show/71548/

Green salad "Tabouleh"

This salad is prepared with either couscous or bulgur groats, which are much less common in our country.

Ingredients:

Couscous - 200 g

Parsley, lettuce leaves "Iceberg" - 100 g each

Mint, green onions - to taste, but in equal proportions

Tomatoes - 2 pcs.

cucumbers or Bell pepper- 2 pcs.

Lemon juice, olive oil, salt - to taste

Cooking

Steam couscous (moisten with water, mix, pour into a colander and put in a saucepan over steam for 20-30 minutes or just cook in a porridge / double boiler) or half-prepared pour boiling water, mix thoroughly with a spoon. After kneading with your hands, so that it is loose, crumbly. Sprinkle with lemon juice, stir. Finely chop the greens, cut the vegetables into small cubes, tear the lettuce leaves. Mix all the ingredients, salt, season with a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice.

Couscous with raisins

Cooking the favorite sweet dish of Moroccans.

Ingredients:

Couscous - 500 g

Raisins - 150 g

Butter - 50 g

Sugar, ground cinnamon - to taste

Cooking

This type of couscous is best steamed (see cooking method above) - this way it will turn out more fragrant and crumbly. Soak the day before cooking right amount raisins in water to swell. When the couscous is ready, add the oil, mix in the raisins, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and mix again.

based on materials Anna Petrovskaya

Couscous with vegetables

Ingredients:

Couscous - 250 g

vegetable broth- 300 ml

Zucchini - 2 pcs.

Eggplant - 1 pc.

Red and yellow sweet pepper - 1 pc.

Red onion - 1 pc.

Garlic - 4 cloves

Olive oil- 300 ml

Salt, pepper, fresh mint - to taste

Cumin - 1 tsp

Juice of one lemon

Cooking

Zucchini, eggplant cut into rings, sprinkle with salt to let the juice, then rinse. Pepper cut into cubes. Mix 2 tbsp. oil with crushed garlic (2 teeth), chopped onion rings, caraway seeds. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and bake the vegetables for 20 minutes.

Pour hot broth over couscous and leave for 10 minutes. Mix remaining oil with crushed garlic, chopped mint, lemon juice and grated zest of one lemon. Pour this mixture over the prepared vegetables, and then put them on the couscous.

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Couscous with champignons

For 2 servings (total 450 kcal, prep time 30 minutes):

50 gr couscous
100 ml hot water
400 gr fresh champignons
1 small onion
1-2 garlic cloves
10 gr olive or vegetable oil
salt to taste

Pour couscous with hot water and leave until the liquid is completely absorbed (about 8-10 minutes).
Fry finely chopped onion in a pan until golden color, add chopped garlic and mushrooms, cut in any shape.
Cook everything together under a closed lid over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, then remove the lid, increase the heat, let all the liquid evaporate. Turn off the fire and add the couscous, mix, serve the plates, garnish with a sprig of parsley.
Delicious both warm and cold.