Preparing couscous – how to make it particularly fluffy

Preparing couscous can be quick and easy. There are various methods for cooking the wheat grain to make it particularly tender and fluffy. With my recipe for couscous and a few useful tips, you can make it particularly desirable.

What exactly is couscous?

Couscous actually refers to a complete dish and not just one ingredient. It is usually a sumptuous stew that is eaten together with family or guests from a large platter.

The ingredient after which the dish is named is now also used independently of the dish. If you would like to find out more about the wheat product, take a look at the article: What is couscous?

Prepare the couscous: Now it’s getting fluffy!

Originally, couscous was made by hand and then prepared – i.e. steamed directly over the stew using a steamer attachment. This gave the wheat balls the flavors of the finished dish while they were still steaming.

If it was not possible to cook the couscous directly, it was left to dry in the sun to make it last longer.

Preparing instant couscous

You can find different types of couscous in the supermarket these days, but in the vast majority of cases it is instant couscous. This couscous is pre-cooked and can be cooked at home in just a few minutes.

Cooking times may vary depending on the manufacturer and variety. The packaging will tell you how to prepare the couscous. However, it is really simple, as you boil the stock in a ratio of 1:1 and pour it over the couscous. Once your couscous is ready, you can fluff it up a little with a fork.

My tip: For flavor, you can add a few flakes of butter, ghee, smen (fermented butter) or a few drops of olive oil.

With instant couscous, you can easily make delicious salads such as couscous salad with halloumi and zucchini or couscous salad with tuna and tahini dressing.

Prepare the couscous in a couscoussière

Traditionally, couscous is prepared in a couscoussière – where it becomes particularly fluffy and aromatic. Unlike instant couscous, classic preparation takes a whole 3 hours rather than just a few minutes. This is because this couscous is not pre-cooked and needs your attention every 15 minutes.

The couscoussière is a two-tiered pot. The lower part is called the “quedra”. The stew is cooked in it. The upper part is called the “keskas”. This is a steaming attachment in which the couscous is gently steamed over the stew. The advantage of this method is that the couscous is flavored by the stew underneath.

For this method, you need untreated couscous – not an instant product. While your stew is already simmering in the quedra, moisten the couscous very lightly with a few drops of water, add it to the keskas and cook over steam for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, pour the couscous out of the keskas into a large, shallow dish, e.g. a casserole dish or baking tray. Add a few drops of salted water and oil, carefully fluff the couscous with two forks and put it back into the keskas. Repeat this process every 15 minutes for 3 hours.

The difference to the instant version is an even looser couscous with much more flavor. No sticking and no lumps. Place the finished couscous in a large, shallow serving dish, make a small well in the middle and pour the stew into the well. Your guests can then help themselves directly to the couscous and stew – or you can eat the dish together in the traditional way from a table.

Prepare the couscous in a saucepan with a steamer insert

As an alternative to the couscoussière, you can simply use a saucepan with a regular steamer insert. However, the perforations in the steamer attachments are usually too large for the fine coucous. For this reason, you can simply place a clean, thin kitchen towel in the steamer insert and place the couscous on top.

It is important that the connection between the cooking pot and the steamer attachment is completely sealed and that no steam escapes. This is to cook the wheat grain. As with the preparation with the couscoussière, you also need to treat the couscous with a little salt water and oil every 15 minutes and fluff it up with a fork.

Now nothing can really go wrong. Choose a preparation method, invite a few guests and have a culinary evening – have fun making couscous and, of course, enjoy your meal.

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