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Couscous tfaya
Steamed couscous crowned with honeyed caramelised onions, raisins, cinnamon and chickpeas
Tfaya is the sweet onion topping that turns a plain couscous into a celebration dish; in Fez and Rabat it is made for weddings, naming ceremonies and Eid, and families in Tétouan add it to Friday couscous too. Onions are cooked slowly with raisins, cinnamon, honey and a little saffron until they collapse into a sticky, mahogany jam, then piled over the couscous with chickpeas and fried almonds. Traditionally it crowns couscous with meat; here the chickpeas and almonds carry the dish, making it a sweet-savoury vegetarian main for a feast. Chef's tip: soak the raisins first, or they draw liquid from the onions and the tfaya catches before it caramelises.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the tfaya
For the couscous
To finish
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Melt 1 ⅜ oz butter with 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wide, heavy pan over a medium heat. Add 2 ¼ lb onions and ½ tsp salt and stir for 10 minutes until they wilt and turn translucent.
10 minStep 2: Stir in 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger and 1 pinch saffron threads, add ¾ cup water, cover and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes so the onions stew and soften completely.
10 minStep 3: Uncover and add the drained 5 ½ oz golden raisins, 3 tbsp honey and 2 tbsp sugar. Cook over a medium-low heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until the liquid has gone and the onions are deep amber and jammy. If they start to stick, add a splash of water rather than turning the heat up; high heat burns honey quickly. Rushing the onions over a high heat is the most common tfaya mistake.
18 minStep 4: While the onions cook, put 16 oz medium couscous in a large bowl, pour over 2 cups hot vegetable stock, cover tightly and leave for 10 minutes.
10 minStep 5: Fry 2 ⅞ oz blanched almonds in 2 tbsp vegetable oil over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring constantly, until evenly golden. Drain on paper towels; they crisp as they cool.
4 minStep 6: Uncover the couscous, add 1 oz butter and fluff with a fork, then rub the grains between your fingers until every lump has gone.
Step 7: Mound the couscous on a platter and make a hollow at the top. Spoon in the tfaya, scatter 8 ½ oz cooked chickpeas around the sides and finish with the almonds and stripes of 1 tsp ground cinnamon.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 88 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 9 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does couscous tfaya take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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