''Mesfouf'' or ''masfouf'' ( ar, مسفوف) is an Algerian dish which is a variant of

couscous Couscous ( '; ber, ⵙⴽⵙⵓ, translit=Seksu) – sometimes called kusksi or kseksu – is a Maghrebi dish of small steamed granules of rolled durum wheat semolina that is often served with a stew spooned on top. Pearl millet, sorghum, ...

with finely rolled

semolina Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well. Ety ...

and

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...

or olive oil. This food is quite popular in the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

. It is conventional to consume the ''mesfouf'' during the holy month of Ramadan. It is served at traditional celebrations or family meals.

Local recipes

In Algeria, it is served as a main dish made of peas and beans. According to them, it is advisable to drink it with some

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of har ...

or yoghurt to facilitate digestion even though it is lighter than couscous. Algerian Masfouf

There are many local recipes for the ''mesfouf'', such as the savory one and the sweet one. Some people opt for the one which contains vegetables and meat. As for the others, they want it accompanied with

peas The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

and dried grapes as in the surrounding of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

Sfax Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterrane ...

ians prefer it decorated with almond and dates and dried fruits (

pistachios The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food. ''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other spe ...

, hazel nuts) and custard.International Inner Wheel Sfax, ''Nos recettes de tous les jours et jours de fêtes'', p. 169 Some people also like to pour milk on the ''mesfouf'' and add sugar to it to make it sweet, as a "cereal", and some dried grapes and/or dates. As for the Djerbian version of the ''mesfouf'', it is spicy and it is often composed of peppers and dried meat and various herbs (garlic, fennel,

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...

...)

References

{{African cuisine Arab cuisine Algerian cuisine Tunisian cuisine Middle Eastern cuisine

Local recipes

See also

References