You want to cook couscous like a pro? Then you've come to the right place. This is what you really have to pay attention to when preparing the coarse hard wheat semolina!
Couscous is to oriental cuisine what the potato is to the Germans. It is simply impossible to imagine the kitchen without it. In addition, it is inexpensive, very nutritious and delicious.
In our supermarkets you can usually find wheat-based couscous. The small grains are nothing more than durum wheat semolina.
For the preparation, durum wheat semolina is mixed with salt water. The dough is then ground into small balls. And that is already the whole spook behind it.
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Pasta is also prepared with durum wheat semolina. Unlike the grains, however, unsalted water is used.
So couscous is actually nothing more than the smallest pasta in the world. The small grains taste great as a warm side dish with curries or vegetables as well as cold in a delicious salad.
The best thing about it: cooking couscous is really easy. We tell you how you can prepare couscous in no time like a star chef. :)
How to cook instant couscous guaranteed to work
In your local supermarket you will usually find instant couscous. This couscous is already pre-cooked after drying. This is great!
Because this will save you a lot of time and you can cook it super fast at home.
We show you step-by-step how to cook couscous.
- Choose the right amount of water for the couscous
- Prepare couscous in saucepan and kettle
- Set the preparation time
Cook couscous in the right amount of water
Whether you're making pasta, rice or couscous, the right amount of water is important to get the right result.
In principle, you only have to let the yellow grains swell in lightly salted water. The water is then absorbed by the durum wheat semolina, which gives it its flavor.
So actually it's even easier than cooking pasta or rice because nothing can burn.
The ratio of water to couscous is always 1:1, which means that if you want to cook 100 g of couscous, you need 100 ml of boiling water.
Instant couscous cooking in saucepan or with kettle
Coarse durum wheat semolina does not need to simmer in water, but only to steep. Therefore, you can choose whether you prepare the couscous in a pot or with a kettle.
Cooking couscous in crock pot
- Fill the pot with the right amount of water and season it with a little salt.
- Once the water starts to boil, take the pot off the heat and add the couscous.
- Put the lid on and let it infuse.
- Last but not least, loosen the couscous with a fork so that the grains do not clump together.
If you like, you can sauté the couscous with vegetables or onions and then add water. So the vegetables give the flavor right to the couscous grains.
Prepare couscous with kettle
- Heat the desired amount of water in the kettle. It should definitely boil!
- Pour the couscous into a bowl and season with salt.
- Pour the boiling water over the yellow grains, cover the bowl and let the mix swell.
- Loosen the well with a fork.
This variant is especially convenient for those who like to save money. Preparation with a kettle is much more energy efficient than with the stove.
Yummy: Couscous salad with feta and crunchy vegetables!
The preparation time
The swelling times of instant couscous can vary depending on the manufacturer. With some brands you will find larger grains, with others again smaller.
But no matter how big the couscous is. It is ready mega fast.
Coarse durum wheat semolina takes only 3 to 5 minutes to swell.
Always pay attention to the information on the purchased package. Then nothing can go wrong.
How to cook couscous in a couscoussière works
Cooking couscous in a what? A couscoussière is a pot in which couscous is traditionally cooked. However, in this preparation you need a lot of time. With 5 to 15 minutes it is not done here.
The preparation of couscous takes no less than 3 hours. This is because no pre-cooked durum wheat semolina is used here. In addition, the grains must be stirred, seasoned and checked every 15 minutes.
But what exactly is the couscoussière? It is a two-tiered pot. The lower part is called the "quedra". It is used for cooking. "Keskas" is the name for the upper part. This is a steaming insert. With it, the couscous can be steamed gently over the lower pot.
Or in other words, a couscoussière is a pressure cooker that you can also use for vegetables, potatoes, fish, meat and other dishes.
Tip: You can order a pressure cooker that is also suitable for couscous from Amazon.
The great advantage of preparing in the couscoussière is that the grains can be flavored by the stew below. However, you can also just bring water to the boil in the lower pot and gently cook the couscous in the steamer insert above.
For this method of preparation, you definitely need untreated couscous - so no instant product.
Kickstarter Breakfast: Couscous with Mango!
How to succeed couscous a coussière
- In the lower pot you cook either a stew with vegetables, meat or fish. Alternatively, you can just boil water in the quedra.
- Moisten the couscous very slightly with a few drops of water. Put the moistened grains into the steam insert. Let the couscous cook over the steam for 15 minutes.
- After the 15 minutes, empty the couscous from the steamer and place the grains in a large shallow dish. A baking tray or a casserole dish is suitable for this. Drizzle a few drops of oil and salt water over the couscous.
- Now you can loosen the durum wheat semolina briefly with two forks. Then put the mixture back into the keskas. Repeat the whole process every 15 minutes for 3 hours.
Sounds very time-consuming, doesn't it? But your couscous has lots of flavors and will certainly not clump or stick together.
Cooking couscous with steamer insert
You want to prepare couscous in the traditional way, but don't want to buy a couscoussière? No problem. You can simply use a regular steam insert.
Mostly, however, the holes of the insert are too large. The small grains would simply fall back into the water. To prevent this from happening, simply place a clean, thin kitchen towel in the steamer insert. It is important that the cooking pot is flush with the steamer insert so that no steam can escape from the sides.
Every 15 minutes you put the couscous on a baking tray. Then drizzle salt water and oil over it. Then loosen it with two forks and put it back into the steamer. Again, repeat the process every 15 minutes for a total of 3 hours.
How much couscous is enough for one person
Do you also have a hard time estimating the right portion size for rice, pasta or other side dishes? You're not alone. The best thing to do is to weigh out the couscous before preparing it.
- 20 grams is enough if you use couscous as a soup starter.
- 40 to 60 grams if you're serving couscous as a side dish.
- 60 to 80 grams if you use couscous as a main meal when you are a little hungry.
- 80 to 100 grams if you cook couscous as a main dish when you are very hungry.
The quantities indicated always refer to the dry product.
How you can season couscous while cooking
With salt alone, the couscous can taste a little bland. Therefore, instead of water, you can simply use broth in the same amount.
If the couscous swells in it, then it is already further seasoning really tasty. When seasoning the durum wheat semolina, however, you can still dare more.
Traditionally, the grains are mixed with fresh herbs like
- Coriander
- Mint
- Parsley
- Thyme or lemon balm seasoned.
Couscous gets a special flavor when you add freshly grated orange or lemon peel.
Spices suitable for refining couscous
- Saffron
- Nutmeg
- Ras el-Hanout
- Cayenne pepper
- Cardamom*
- Cloves
- Paprika and anise.
Tip: Ras el Hanout is a spice blend that goes well with vegetables, meat, fish, pasta, rice and couscous. You can order Ras el Hanout at Amazon and you get a free guidebook for the preparation with the brand Krautberger.
How healthy couscous is
Before preparing couscous, you're probably wondering if the grains are healthy rather or suitable for cheatdays. For this you need to know that couscous is basically a cereal product like pasta.
So the small grains contain many carbohydrates, but hardly any fat. Thus, it satiates you for a long time. It also contains a lot of protein; to be more precise, couscous contains five times as much protein as potatoes. Whether the durum wheat semolina is healthy also depends a lot on the preparation.
However, the small yellow grains also contain important nutrients. Besides sodium, potassium, iron, magnesium and vitamin B6, it also contains calcium. 100 grams of uncooked couscous provides about 112 calories.
Couscous is not for low carb fans due to its high carbohydrate content. Do you suffer from celiac disease and therefore have to avoid gluten? Then you have to stay away from couscous. Instead, you can choose rice or quinoa.
What are the varieties of couscous
There are many different types of couscous. The degree of fineness alone can be distinguished between fine, medium and coarse.
In the store, couscous is usually found with a medium-fine grain size. This is also the best to prepare and it becomes nice and fluffy.
However, there are also much larger or much finer variants. What most of them have in common is that they are instant products. The grains are therefore already precooked. But this has the great advantage that the preparation is faster.
In Lebanon, the pearl couscous called "Moghrabieh" is very popular. With these grains you recognize at first glance the relationship to pasta.
The taste and bite are also more reminiscent of Italian pasta than North African fine couscous. Mograbieh, unlike fine couscous, must be cooked.
The Israeli alternative is called Pittim. The production process is similar to that of Lebanese mograbieh. However, pittim is not sun-dried but very hot-dried. This gives it a slightly nutty taste. In terms of shape, pittim is somewhat reminiscent of a grain of rice.
In Greece, couscous is called kritharaki, orzo or manestra. Visually, however, it no longer has much to do with couscous. What the two have in common, however, are the ingredients durum wheat semolina and water.
Thus, Kritharaki forms a kind of bridge between the fine North African couscous over the coarse Mograbieh from the Middle East to the delicious Italian pasta.
Our conclusion
You see, cooking couscous is really not difficult. With the instant products from the supermarket, you can whip up delicious and fluffy durum wheat semolina in no time. All you have to do is pour hot water over the grains.
Couscous can be used in many ways. You can eat the grains for breakfast as a cereal base, at lunch as a salad and in the evening as a side dish with meat, fish or vegetables.
It is best to use fresh herbs and spices for seasoning.
Enjoy cooking couscous and meal! :)
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