Our chefs' recipes: Mauritanian couscous (n’gommou)

This month, CIS introduces you to a traditional Mauritanian recipe: couscous (n'gommou) by Chef Aly Bechir (Chef - 9 years with CNA Mauritania).

Ingredients

• 5kg mutton (with bone),
• 3kg onions,
• 3g bay leaves,
• 3kg carrots,
• 3kg cabbage,
• 1.5kg courgettes,
• 10g salt,
• 30g garlic,
• 2.5kg couscous semolina (N'Goummou),
• 250ml sunflower oil,
• 5g black pepper,
• 5g baobab leaf (powder)

Instructions

1. Cut the meat into 4cm pieces
2. Peel and chop the onions
3. Wash and season your meat, once the onions are browned, add the meat to the pan.
4. Add pepper, let it brown, the meat and onions should evaporate.
5. Stir the mixture and cover with boiling water, just enough to submerge the meat. Leave to cook for two and a half hours on a medium heat.
6. Add all the vegetables
7. Rinse the semolina and steam it twice
8. Mix the couscous with the Baobab leaf powder and steam again for 45mins
9. Cool the couscous, arrange the meat and vegetables on the semolina
10. Cover with the sauce.

About the chef

Chef Hmeida Aly El Bechir, 49, was introduced to cooking at an early age by his grandmother. At the age of 23, he started working as a cook on fishing boats in Nouadhibou, the country's largest port. He then sharpened his knives in several restaurants in Nouakchott before opening his own establishment, «Clair de Lune». His culinary adventure continued in 2012, when he joined our newly created subsidiary CNA as a production manager. In 2019, he was promoted to Executive Chef, a position he currently holds.

Chef's secret

«Everything comes to him who waits!» You have to give the meat time to cook and give it all its flavour.

Information about our catering service

Information about CNA Mauritania