Couscous (كسكسي, in Arabic) is on the one hand a semolina of durum wheat prepared with olive oil (one of the traditional staple foods of the Maghreb countries) and on the other hand, a recipe of cuisine from the Berber cuisine, based on couscous, vegetables, spices, olive oil, and meat or fish.
It is with Tajine, one of the emblematic dishes of traditional Maghreb cuisine and, more broadly, Jewish cuisine from North Africa, African cuisine, and Mediterranean diet, cooked according to multiple regional and local cultural variations. The oldest known traces of couscous are found in burials of the third century BC. J. - C., of the time of the Berber king Massinissa of Numidie (in the current north of Algeria), one of the cradles of the culture of the wheat. Known in France since the 16th century, it was incorporated into French cuisine in the early 20th century, via the French colonial empire and the Pieds-noirs of Algeria, and is to date the third favorite salty dish of the French
Couscous is served most often with a vegetable stew with meat, sometimes presented in a traditional terracotta dish in Tajine. The basic dish consists of the combination of couscous (cereal) and chickpeas (legumes) but without meat, the legume playing the role of protein intake. It can also be eaten alone, flavored or plain, hot or cold, as a dessert with sugar or side dish.
