How To Prepare Steamed CousCous – Dambun CousCous

I will be showing you how to prepare the step-by-step popular Northern recipe known as Dambun CousCous or Steamed Couscous.

Yes, you read it all. It’s called “steamed couscous” because we don’t cook it the normal way we cook our meals but it is steamed rather. Yep, water is not added to it like when you’re cooking couscous Jollof.

So let’s say you don’t know what is couscous or what it looks like, below is a picture of it.

Aside from couscous, you can make dambu with braised maize and also rice which is called Dambun Shinkafa.

Dambu in general is a very tasty and easy meal that can be prepared with vegetables like Spinach or Moringa, Carrots, and Green beans.

Other ingredients are Pepper (habanero and chili), onion bulb, spring onion, and other ingredients you will find out soon. Some do add groundnut to theirs but I didn’t when preparing mine.

For those of you that don’t know, dambu is a choker so it’s very advisable to have your water or soft drink close by when eating.

So, let’s begin cooking.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 sachet of CousCous
• Beef (desired quantity)
• Moringa leaves (desired quantity)
• 8 pieces of carrots
• 1 handful of green beans
• 9 pieces of habanero pepper (shambo)
• 10 pieces of chili pepper
• 1 spring onion
• 1 medium-size onion
• 6 seasoning cubes
• Salt
• 1 cup of vegetable oil

STEAMED COUSCOUS PREPARATION

First, cut the meat into small pieces then wash it well.

Then pack into a pot on heat and add enough water.

Add a seasoning cube, some chopped onions, and salt to taste. Then cover and allow to cook till soft.

With that done, wash the carrot and green beans.

Then cut the tips of the green beans one by one and also scrape the carrots.

After that, cut the carrots and green beans into small chunks.

Then peel, wash and chop the onion bulb and spring onion separately.

When the meat is cooked, set it off the heat.

Add water to a pot and set on heat to boil.

Next, turn the couscous in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to it then add a little water and mix.

Also, add a little salt to give it a bit of taste.

Note: The purpose of the oil is to avoid it sticking together when steaming and the water is to get the texture of the couscous to be soft.

When the texture is soft, then you can stop adding water.

Now to the boiling water on heat, put a stainless basket in the pot and turn the couscous in the basket.

Level it before you cover the basket with a foil sheet and then cover the pot.

Then allow to cook for 20 minutes or longer if not cooked by then.

When the couscous is cooked, turn it a bit with your spatula then you can spread the washed moringa leaves on it.

Cover it once again with foil paper and the pot and allow for 5 minutes before you set it off the heat.

Then set a pot on heat and add the vegetable oil to it.

Allow to heat up a bit before you add the chopped onion.

Mix and allow to fry for a few minutes then turn in the grated pepper.

Next, add the chopped carrots and green beans.

Then turn the cooked meat and the broth then mix.

Now add the seasoning cubes and a little salt then mix.

Also add the spring onion.

And lastly, turn in the steamed moringa and couscous.

You have to give it a good mix after that so that all the seasoning and ingredients can adjust well in the pot.

When you are done mixing, allow to cook for 3 minutes before you off the heat.

And finally, you can serve the dambun couscous.