CousCous with Lamb Curry & Vegetables

From Morroco with Love.


CousCous is a traditional North African dish made from Durum (hard) wheat Semolina and prepared with meat, lamb or chicken curry and vegetables. This is a delicious dish if prepared properly, not the packet variety which you soak in boiling water for five minutes. The wheat is pounded into granules and soaked in water for a few hours and then dried, sifting the grain through your fingers until it is smooth. I first tasted CousCous in Tangier in the mid sixties and used to eat it whenever I visited Morocco. But the best CousCous I ever had was in Casablanca, prepared by an stranger who held me captive for two days.

It was the autumn of 1964 and I went to Casa blanca on a periodical visit. I arrived there early in the morning and having checked in a hotel, shaved and showered and changed into fresh clothes, and came down and stood at the front entrance of the hotel. It was early and I was contempleting whether to go to the people I had come to visit or have some breakfast and strong moroccan coffee first. I had barely stood for five minutes there when a woman in a long kaftan, its hood covering her head, her face covered with an scarf and only her eyes visible, approached me. She came to me purposefully, stopped in front of me and gestured with her hand that I follow her. She was of medium height, slim looking through her kaftan and there was an animal agility about her. A woman covered from head to feet or shrouded in burka, is no strange sight in Morocco, however I was taken-a-back a little but without hesitation followed her. She walked briskly and I followed her at a little distance.

In ten minutes we had plunged in the depth of Casa blanca's drab, dirty, broken down alleyways, the din of daily life drowning the softness of the morning. In my mind ran the thought that I may be taken to some place and robbed or even killed. This had happened to me on a previous visit when I had hired a taxi one evening to go to the beach. It was late in the evening and there were few people, some women with small children playing in the sand. The driver stopped his taxi at some distance, I got out and he took out a knife and asked me to hand over all the money I had. I panicked and gave him all I had but told him not to leave me there alone. I told him the name of the person whom I had come to visit and gave him the address. Now it was his time to panick when he heard the name of the person. He pushed the money in my hand, shoved me in the back of the taxi and driving as if the Devil was on his tail, dropped me a few metres from the place I had told him. When I told my host about the incident, he nodded his head and cautioned me not to go anywhere without first telling him about my destination.

Now the woman leading the way entered a narrow alley, children and dogs lolling in the dirt, a man repairing bicycles in the middle of the street. Abruptly she stopped in front of a small door, opened it with a push and beckoned me to follow. I did and found myself in a huge hall, in the middle were water taps where women were filling water jugs, washing clothes and a few men lounging and smoking. It crossed my mind that this was a Zennana, women's quarters, but before I could react to my surroundings, my guide was climbing the stairs and when I reached her, she opened a door and entered. I followed her. Then she locked the door. She stood there before me and extended her hand. I understood the gesture and gaver her a 1000 Pesetas Note (Spanish money), a large sum at that time. She took the money and left, closing the door behind her. Not a single word had passed between us. I edged towards the door and found that it was locked from the outside. My heart missed several beats.

After what seemed a long while, the lady of the house entered the room, closed and locked the door. In her hand was a large basket full of groceries. She had also brought a 1/4 bottle of White Label whisky, soda water and three bottles of cold beer. Now her head was not covered and her hair was thick and the colour of dark chestnut. Then she took off her scarf and I was pleased to see that she was very good looking, on her cheeks were tattooed small dots. She took off her kaftan, unzipping it all the way down and emerged in a knee length embroidered shirt. She was a slim young woman, about seventeen, with thick eyebrows. She came to me, touching my body with hers, and gave me a very passionate kiss on my lips. Still no word was spoken.

What followed was a flood of erotic passion, sweating bodies entwined and crushing into each other.The day passed in a whirlwind of love making, I sitting on the cot drinking cold beer, whisky & soda and she bustling about in the small room. She went out, brought a bucket of fresh water and bathed me. Then she showered and sitting naked on the floor, started cooking. It was CousCous with lamb curry and vegetables. And it was delicious, I had never tasted such tasty food anywhere in Morocco. The door was locked again and no word passed between us.

I stayed the night with her and next morning when I woke up, she had already brought fresh bread and butter, Nan and olives and had brewed strong and sweet tea. To my surprise, she was singing Indian movie songs. Indian songs are very popular in Morocco. Afterwards we made love and took a nap. Late in the evening,when I indicated to her my wish to leave, she clung to me and would not let me go. So I stayed there the second night too, eating grilled goat meat with rice and nan, chickpeas and harissa (hot chilli paste). In the morning, after two nights's stay, I got ready and followed her all the way to the hotel. Without stopping or saying goodbye, she indicated the hotel and walked on, without looking back. Although I stayed in the same hotel many times and stood near the entrance door expectantly, nobody in a kaftan with head and face covered, ever approached me.

To prepare CousCous:
In a bowl put 300gms semolina, cover with cold water and leave for 20 minutes.

In a deep pot with steamer (a seive will do) heat olive oil and pour in :
2 large onions, peeled and coarsly chopped
1 large tomatoe, chopped
4 teeth of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 piece (3cm) ginger, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon thyme
1 green chilli
100gms Chickpeas (soaked over night in water. You can use canned or bottled ones too).
1/2 teaspoon saffron powder or some whole saffron twigs. OR 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder.
1 teaspoon each Cumin seeds, Corriander seeds, 4 pods Cardaman seeds, Black Pepper and salt to taste (all the spices could be used whole or pounded or grinded).

Fry the contents for 2 minutes and add lamb, trimmed of any fat and cut into cubes and fry for another 2 minutes. Add little water to mix the ingredients and then pour in 2 cups of more water, enough to cover the contents and some more. The idea is to make a thick curry but not too watery. Bring it to boil and simmer on very low heat.
Drain semolina and put it in the steamer and let it steam over the pot.
In the meantime,
peel and cut into cuarters 2 medium size potatoes
1 large turnip (also peeled and cut)
1 large zuccini (cut into large cubes)
1 medium aubergine (eggplant)
100gms fresh green beans
3 medium size carrots
100gms Okra

After 10 minutes cooking, take off the steamer and rub semolina with your fingers, smoothing the grains with little cold water. Add salt to taste and some olive oil. Put the steamer over the pot again and let semolina absorb the juices steaming under it. Repeat this process two-three times. The lamb will take 20 minutes to cook, so add all the vegetables in the pot after 20 minutes and simmer for 10 minutes more. Mix well the contents of the pot before serving.

CousCous is traditionally served on a large plate and meat and vegetables poured over it and eaten with fingers or with an spoon. Cold beer or red wine will go nicely with this tasty dish. You can serve Nan or Pitta bread, olives, humus, harrisa (red chilli paste) and you will have a feast.

If you would like to make CousCoous with vegetables only, prepare the vegetables with onions and a tomatoe and steam the semolina the same way. The choice is yours.