Thursday 31 December 2009

Walima Cooking Club Moroccan tour - Couscous with lamb and Ghriba

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 s
traight 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
Ingredients :
1 pound couscous
1 pound meat -beef or chicken or lamb,
2-3 carrots,
2 zucchinis,
3 tomatoes,
2 potatoes,
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.

Method:
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)

Ingredients :

3 3/4 cups flour
2 stick melted butter (230 grams)
1/4 cup oil
1 cup sugar
a pinch of salt

Method:

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.


27 comments:

Dori said...

Thanks for the link to the great blog and that food looks mouth watering!

Unknown said...

Looks very inviting..Adipoli!!A very happy new year to you & your family faiza and may 2010 bring us all joy and happiness!

Dori said...

Thanks for the link to the great blog and that food looks mouth watering!

Parita said...

Cookies look delicious!

Muneeba said...

Love eating lamb the way it's prepared in Morocco ... so tender and succulent! That looks like a fantastic meal, Faiza :)

Namitha said...

Interesting read on Moroccan cuisine..Never tried couscous.It looks scrumptious .Thanks for letting us know the Moroccan name for these cookies..:-)Happy New Year Faiza !!

Yasmeen said...

Perfectly done,Faiza :D

Pari Vasisht said...

Wish you a very happy and prosperous new year dear.

Ash said...

Lovely & inviting look the lamb prep has.... Thanks for inviting me through the visuals...

Happy Celebrations!!!!

Wishing You & your family a very happy year ahead....

Ash...
(http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

Nammi said...

I love couscous and lamb. Looks yumm , very tempting .

Katy ~ said...

I would enjoy both of these very much! Both of these delicious looking recipes are going into my must-make stash. Thank you so much for sharing these!

Best of 2010 to you!

Dolly Sharma said...

Great way to end 2009 and ring in the new year, with ur awesome Moroccan recipes.Love both the recipes and am bookmarking them for 2010. I have never attempted Moroccan food, but as they say NEVER SAY NEVER,..looking fwd to trying these recipes soon. Ghriba look so inviting and remind me of Nan Khatai.I have to post that recipe soon as its still in my draft folder.
Wishing you and your family a happy, fun filled and healthy 2010. Also let me thank you for all the love and support extended to me and my blog. That surely is a great motivation to keep blogging.

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Faiza
Thank you so much for this new dish and the write up on Morocco. I always like to cook dishes from other countries.
By the way what is Cous cous,? ( pardon my ignorance)
Happy New Year and have a nice weekend

Priya Suresh said...

Just love moroccan foods, my fav moroccan dish is this couscous with lamb, tempting dish, beautiful cookies..

Faiza Ali said...

@Ushnish - Couscous is a like small pasta made out of semolina and wheat flour. It looks like semolina / sooji, but the size of the granules is lil bigger than semolina. You can find it in middle eastern stores. Hope I answered your question.

Ann said...

Good job Faiza! The dishes look yummy - i am so behind on all my Walima postings, I have a New Years resolution to catch up! Love the cookies in particular!

Vineetha Sush said...

Thank you so much for visiting my blog and following me..will be happy to follow you too..Missed this wonderful blog last year :)

Vineetha Sush said...

Thank you so much for visiting my blog and following me.Happy to follow you too..Missed this wonderful blog last year

Abhilash said...

Ghriba looks good.
I also use powdered ginger for different dishes. Nice to read about Morocco. I never knew about their food customs and taste.

Arlette said...

Hello Farida

Awesome Challenge, and photos looks so delicious.
thanks so much for participating in the challenge....

best of happiness and health, and many delicious deishes to see.

SOUSOUKITCHEN said...

Hi Farida, congratulations, your couscous looks 100% Moroccan, nice color and I am sure it tastes wonderful, thanks for participating.

SOUSOUKITCHEN said...

Ghriba is perfect, just the way I love it, thanks.

s said...

looks mouth watering...

Zurin said...

I must try this recipe (the couscous) it looks divine !

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