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Couscous tfaya

Nargisse Benkabbou's couscous tfaya from Fes with Halal chicken: saffron and ginger chicken legs with chickpeas over couscous, topped with tfaya, a sauce of slow-caramelised onions, raisins, honey and cinnamon.

Moroccan · Main · Easy · 6 plates · 75 min

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

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Why Halal checks matter here

The dish is 6 large chicken legs, which are Halal only from Halal-slaughtered birds, simmered in 400 ml of chicken stock, with 100 ml more in the tfaya; bought chicken stock is a chicken product.

Halal-critical ingredients

• Chicken legs: Chicken is a Halal bird, but slaughter decides, and chicken without a Halal mark doesn't say how the bird was slaughtered. Buy the chicken from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Chicken.
• Chicken stock (chicken and tfaya): Bought chicken stock is a chicken product, and the UK's mainstream stock cubes contain uncertified chicken or meat fat. Use a Halal-certified chicken stock or a vegan vegetable stock. See Stock cubes.

Ingredients

Chicken

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• ¾ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• pinch saffron threads
• 6 large Halal chicken legs
• 400 ml Halal-certified chicken stock, or vegetable stock
• 400 g tin of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Tfaya

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 large onions, sliced
• 300 g raisins
• 3 tbsp clear honey
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt, or more to taste
• 100 ml Halal-certified chicken stock, or vegetable stock

To serve

• 360 g couscous, cooked to the packet instructions and seasoned with salt and olive oil
• 50 g flaked almonds, toasted (optional)

Method

1. Start the chicken. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, turmeric, ginger, salt, pepper and saffron and cook for 3 minutes, stirring now and then.
2. Simmer the chicken. Add the chicken legs and cook for 5 minutes, turning now and then. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil over a high heat, then cover, turn the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 45 minutes.
3. Add the chickpeas. Stir in the chickpeas, cover again and simmer for 15 minutes more, or until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Soften the onions for the tfaya. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a separate large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onions, cover and cook for about 20 minutes until soft and translucent, stirring now and then. Soak the raisins in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain.
5. Finish the tfaya. Add the raisins, honey, cinnamon and salt to the onions and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes until lightly golden, stirring now and then. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil over a high heat, then simmer over a medium-low heat for about 25 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce is thick and golden brown. Adjust the salt.
6. Serve. Taste the chicken broth and adjust the salt. Spread the warm couscous on a large serving plate, top with the chicken, broth and chickpeas, then the tfaya, and scatter with the toasted almonds if you like.

Allergens

gluten (couscous), nuts (almonds, optional)

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from Great British Chefs' 'Couscous tfaya' by Nargisse Benkabbou, from her book Casablanca: My Moroccan Food (Mitchell Beazley); she says tfaya originates in Fes, where both her parents are from (serves 6; easy; 1 hour 15 minutes in total. Chicken: 2 large sliced onions, 4 crushed garlic cloves, 2 tsp each turmeric and ginger, ¾ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper and a pinch of saffron cooked 3 minutes in 3 tbsp olive oil; 6 large chicken legs cooked 5 minutes; 400 ml chicken stock brought to the boil, then simmered covered 45 minutes; a drained 400 g tin of chickpeas added and simmered 15 minutes more. Tfaya: 4 large sliced onions cooked covered about 20 minutes in 2 tbsp olive oil over a medium-low heat; 300 g raisins soaked 10 minutes in hot water; the raisins, 3 tbsp clear honey, 1 tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp salt cooked uncovered about 10 minutes; 100 ml chicken stock boiled, then simmered about 25 minutes to a thick golden-brown sauce. To serve: 360 g couscous cooked to the packet instructions and seasoned with salt and olive oil, topped with the chicken, broth and chickpeas, then the tfaya, with 50 g toasted flaked almonds if you like). We specified Halal chicken and a Halal-certified or vegetable stock; the published steps are split at their natural breaks. Great British Chefs gives the total time only; we split it from the method into 5 minutes of preparation and 70 of cooking. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Photograph from our ingredient library: steamed couscous with vegetables, not the finished dish from this recipe.