Couscous kind of parboiled dried cracked wheat of similar size to couscous, cooked by adding boiling water and leaving for a few minutes to soften. Couscous Couscous ( ' ; ') is a Maghrebi dish of small (about diameter) steamed balls of crushed durum wheat semolina that is traditionally served with a stew spooned on top. Pearl millet and sorghum especially in the Sahel and other cereals can be cooked in a similar way and the resulting dishes are also sometimes called couscous. Couscous is a staple food throughout the North African cuisines of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Libya, and Egypt.
Steaming preferring to avoid additional fat intake may prefer steaming to methods which require cooking oil. A 2007 USDA comparison between steaming and boiling vegetables shows the most affected nutrients are folic acid and vitamin C. When compared to raw consumption, steaming reduces folic acid by 15%, and boiling reduces it by 35%. Steaming reduces vitamin C by 15%, and boiling reduces it by 25%. Steaming, compared to boiling, showed 42% higher amount of glucosinolates in broccoli cooked for medium firmness. Phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties have been found to retain significantly better through steaming than through boiling or microwaving. Steaming