Name: Couscous Royal
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Algeria, North Africa
Ingredients: 500 g lamb shoulder, cut into large chunks; 4 whole merguez sausages; 2 medium turnips, peeled and quartered; 2 medium courgettes, cut into chunks; 3 medium carrots, peeled and halved; 1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 500 g medium couscous

Couscous Royal

Algeria's grandest couscous dish featuring fluffy steamed semolina topped with lamb, merguez sausage, and a fragrant vegetable broth loaded with chickpeas, turnips, and courgettes.

Country

Algeria

Region

North Africa

Time

120 min

Serves

Level

hard

Couscous Royal

Couscous is inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, shared among the Maghreb nations. In Algeria, Friday couscous is a sacred family tradition. The Royal version brings together multiple meats and a rich vegetable broth, reserved for celebrations, weddings, and honoured guests. Steaming the couscous in a couscoussier above the simmering broth infuses every grain with flavour.

Best served withButtermilk (lben) and harissa on the side

Best occasionFriday lunch, weddings, celebrations

Country hubAlgeria cuisine hub

Collection routeSunday Specials

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Image sourced from unsplash by Dmytro Glazunov.

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What the dish tastes like

Algeria's grandest couscous dish featuring fluffy steamed semolina topped with lamb, merguez sausage, and a fragrant vegetable broth loaded with chickpeas, turnips, and courgettes.

When to cook it

Best for Friday lunch, weddings, celebrations, with a hard cooking level and about 120 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Buttermilk (lben) and harissa on the side

Follow the collection route

Couscous Royal belongs to 2 AfroKitchen collections. Sunday Specials is the strongest cluster route to start from. Sunday Specials

Start the broth

In the bottom of a couscoussier or large pot, brown the lamb in oil. Add the onion, tomato paste, 1 tsp each of ras el hanout, black pepper, and salt. Cover with 2 litres of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

Skim any foam that rises to the surface for a clear broth.

Simmer lamb 45:00

Add vegetables

Add the chickpeas, turnips, and carrots to the broth. Continue simmering for 20 minutes. Then add the courgettes and cook for another 15 minutes until all vegetables are tender.

Add vegetables in stages so nothing overcooks.

Cook vegetables 35:00

Steam the couscous

While the broth simmers, place the couscous in a wide bowl. Sprinkle with salted water and rake with your fingers. Transfer to the steamer basket and steam over the broth for 20 minutes. Remove, fluff, and repeat the process once more.

Steaming twice gives the lightest, fluffiest couscous. Never let the couscous touch the broth directly.

Steam couscous 40:00

Cook the merguez

Grill or pan-fry the merguez sausages until cooked through and charred on the outside, about 8 minutes.

Cook merguez 08:00

Assemble and serve

Mound the couscous on a large serving platter. Arrange the lamb and merguez on top. Surround with the vegetables and ladle broth over everything. Serve with harissa on the side.

Serve the extra broth in a separate bowl so guests can add more to their liking.

Couscous Royal

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Step-by-step instructions

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