Algerian Sweet Couscous: Mesfouf

Couscous is one of the basic foods of North Africa and it can be savory or sweet. Couscous is a pasta of semolina, and it can be very fine grains of pasta (Moroccan style) or the somewhat larger type (Israeli style, also called 'pearl' couscous) or the pea sized (Lebanese style). The basic sweet couscous dish is common throughout much of North Africa, but there are many variations for the specific recipes. It is very popular as a breakfast dish during the month of Ramadan, a Muslim spiritual period that includes fasting from sunrise to sunset; thus, breakfast is eaten before sunrise. It is often eaten accompanied by a glass of  "leben,"* which is North African buttermilk; that is, fermented milk that has the butter removed, with water then added to thin it. Some North Africans also put buttermilk over the couscous to make a cereal type dish, with some even heating the buttermilk a little.     

Ingredients: 

 

1 1/2 cups Moroccan couscous

1 2/3 cups water

4 tablespoons melted butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup golden raisins 

1/4 cup chopped dates

2 to 3 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

chopped nuts like hazelnuts or almonds

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

 

In a sauce pan (use a pan large enough to hold the cooked couscous, as it will absorb the water and expand in size), heat the water to boiling, stir in the couscous, cook for about 30 seconds, stirring the couscous a couple of times, then put the lid on the pan and remove the pan from the heat. Let the covered couscous sit for about 5 to 6 minutes, then check to see if the water has been absorbed. Fluff the cooked couscous with a fork. Melt the butter (do not brown the butter) and mix in the honey and olive oil while the butter is warm. Add the melted butter and honey mixture, cinnamon, raisins, chopped dates, chopped nuts and chopped mint, mix well.

* In parts of the Middle East, the same term means "yogurt."

 

For the photos, I simply put some of the Algerian Sweet Couscous in a small tart pan to mold it and then transfered it to a small serving plate. Served with a glass of  buttermilk ...

WORD HISTORY:

Cinnamon-The ancient origin of this word for particular types of tree bark used as a spice is unclear, but there's a "possibility" it goes back to Malay, one of the languages of the Austronesian family of languages, which had a word like "kyumanes" or "kayumans." It eventually made it into the Semitic languages of the Middle Eastern area (Hebrew has transliterated "qinmon/qynmwn"), including Phoenician, which is likely how it was borrowed by Ancient Greek which had transliterated "kinnamomom," and also the shorter "kinnamom." Latin borrowed the word as "cinnamum," which then passed into Latin-based Old French as "cinnamone." English borrowed the word in the latter part of the 1300s. Remember, spices of various kinds, including cinnamon, came into Europe from elsewhere, and thus originally, there was no word for "cinnamon" in Europe. Centuries ago, cinnamon and other spices from the Middle East, North Africa or elsewhere were of very limited supply, they were, therefore, very expensive. Close English cousin German has the substantially shortened form "Zimt," but Low German has "Kaneel," a word likely borrowed either directly from French or via Dutch, which had it as a diminutive from Latin "canna," which meant "reed;" thus also, "the substance that makes up a reed." So Low German's form is obviously a reference to the rolled bark of cinnamon looking like reeds.