Its Moroccan cuisine for the month of December at Walima club . Sabah from Sousoukitchen and Touria from Cuisine Touria picked the challenge for this month - Couscous with lamb/ beef and Ghriba (the famous Moroccan cookies) . Here is a history of Morocco and Moroccan cuisine .
Morocco or the Kingdom of Morocco(Al Mamlaka -Al-Magribiya) translated to the Western Kingdom, is a country located in the north Africa with an area just under 447,000 square kilometres. Rabat is the capital and Casablanca is the largest city.
Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic ocean that reaches past the straight of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean sea. It is bordered by Algeria to the east, Spain to the North and Western Sahara to the south.Several Arabic and Berber dialects are spoken in Morocco and the population is largely homogeneous.
The Moroccan Cuisine is one of the diversified cuisines in the world. It is a mix of Berber, Spanish, Moorish, Middle eastern, Mediterranean and African Cuisines.
Moroccan Cuisine is based on the use of different spices but the most characteristic feature is the use of powder ginger in different tajines. Olive oil is also a characteristic of Moroccan Cuisine as it is the case of all the Mediterranean cuisines.Chicken is the most widely eaten meat in Morocco. The most commonly eaten red meat in Morocco is beef; lamb is preferred as it is the basic ingredient in making tajines. the Moroccan tajine can also be made with fish and vegetables.The most popular drink is green tea with mint which is accompanied with different Moroccan pastry.
Now coming to the recipes...We were given the recipe for couscous with beef, but one can even use lamb or chicken instead and I used lamb . And the recipe asked for butternut squash along with other veggies., But I used potatoes instead. because my family is not a big fan of butternut squash.
COUSCOUS WITH BEEF
1 pound couscous
1 pound meat -beef or chicken or lamb,
1 big onion,
1/2 cup chopped coriander,
1 cup boiled chickpeas,
2 tbsp vegetable oil,
1/2 tsp salt,
1/2 tsp pepper,
1/2 tsp ginger,
1/2 tsp turmeric,
pinch of saffron and
1 tsp butter/ ghee.
Heat the oil at medium temperature, add chopped onion and the meat.After 15 minutes, add chopped tomatoes, parsley, coriander and the spices, let cook 10 min, add water, and cook for 1 hour. When the meat is almost done, add carrots to the meat stew and cook for 10 minutes, then add the potatoes, zucchini and chickpeas and cook again for 15 -20 minutes or untilall the vegetable are cooked.
To cook the Couscous:
Traditionally the couscous is cooked by steam, by putting the couscous in a steamer pot and placing it(the steamer pot) over the meat, while it gets cooked by the steam. But, for quick and easy way or if you don't have a couscous pot, put the couscous in a large bowl and add equal boiling water to it and cover for 2-3 minutes. Fluff it with your hands, using some butter . Add some salt and keep aside.
To serve, place couscous first on a plate, then the meat, the vegetables and the sauce.
Now coming to the cookies, Its Ghriba/moroccan cookies. Its very easy and simple.. here goes the recipe for it...
GHRIBA (THE FAMOUS MOROCCAN COOKIES)
3 3/4 cups flour
2 stick melted butter (230 grams)
1/4 cup oil
1 cup sugar
a pinch of salt
Mix flour, sugar, salt, melted butter, oil and mix until the mixture becomes sandy.Form small balls, flatten them a little bit, place in a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 380 F, 20 min.
The cookies should keep their white color.