page_title: Couscous
section_title: Israel
hierarchical_section_title: Couscous / Local variations / Israel
caption_attribution_description: English: Ptitim - Ben-Gurion rice עברית: פתיתים - אורז בן גוריון, מאכל ישראלי
context_page_description: Couscous is a Maghrebi dish of small 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. Pearl or Israeli couscous, properly known as ptitim, is a type of pasta.
  Couscous is a staple food throughout the Maghrebi cuisines of Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, Morocco, and Libya. It is consumed in France where couscous was introduced by Maghrebis immigrants—Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians.
context_section_description: In Israel, and among members of Maghrebi Jewish communities in the diaspora, couscous is a common food. Couscous is not indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean, and arrived in the region with the migration of Jews from the Maghreb to Israel in the 20th century. Since then it has become a very popular dish in the country, and it is a staple of the Sephardic community and people of all backgrounds.
  In addition, Israelis of all backgrounds commonly eat ptitim, also known as Israeli couscous, or pearl couscous, which is similar to regular couscous except it is larger like the Ashkenazi farfel or the Levantine maftoul (though ptitim does not contain bulgur unlike maftoul). Ptitim is a staple food and is very popular,  especially with children, and is commonly served with butter or cooked with vegetables or chicken broth. However, it is prepared more similarly to pasta and is only boiled for a few minutes, and it is not steamed and fluffed like the Maghrebi couscous. There are other shapes of ptitim, including a shape which resembled rice, which is also known as Ben Gurion’s rice, which was created in the 1950s after Israel's independence, as there was rationing and food shortages and rice was unavailable in the country.
  In addition to ptitim, there are many varieties of couscous that can be found throughout Israel. Among Israelis of Maghrebi origin, couscous is a very common food and is served at almost every meal, especially on holidays, special occasions and celebrations, as well as on Shabbat (Jewish sabbath), for their Friday night dinners. Many people make their own couscous by hand, but it is a very labor-intensive process. It is also common to buy instant couscous, and there are a large variety of brands and varieties for sale in Israel.
  Different communities have different styles and sizes of couscous, similar to the differences in size and style between the couscous of the different cuisines of the Maghreb. Moroccan Jewish couscous is larger, and is frequently prepared with aromatic spices and served with meat. Algerian Jewish couscous is smaller. The smallest is Tunisian Jewish couscous, which is not much larger than grains of coarse sand. Tunisian Jewish couscous is often served with harissa or shkug, or cooked with vegetables such as carrots, zucchini, or potatoes and served with chamin, a Maghrebi Jewish beef stew similar to cholent, that is often served for Shabbat. Couscous is also be prepared with cinnamon sticks, orange and other citrus peel, and aromatic spices for special occasions and celebrations. It is not common to find sweet couscous or dessert couscous in Israel, as in Egypt and other countries.
caption: Israeli couscous shaped like rice, also known as Ben-Gurion's Rice, found in a local supermarket
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