Nwasser with Chicken

Tunisian Cuisine is full of fresh and spicy contrasting flavor with a wholesome dish that will definitely satisfy your hungry and tastebuds. There are so many traditional produce and ways of cooking that had great influence of many other countries like Mediterranean, Arab, France and specially Italy.

If we have a close look into the Tunisian cuisine, you will find ingredients like tomatoes and tomatoes concentrates that are like heart of Italian and Mediterranean. The cuisine calls for other ingredients like Olive oil, seafood, meats, poultry, and spices. Thus, you may find dish spiced up with their unique spice blends and that hearty spoon full of bite is heavenly. But today, we are going to explore one of the hidden gems of Tunisian cuisine, Nwasser or you can say Tunisian pasta.

Tunisia is considered as the world’s third largest country that consume pasta in their daily life and there is a reason behind it. Their stable pasta or Nwasser is full of healthy fiber and nutrients. This article is all about it and to get you started with the Tunisian pasta, we have a recipe at the end as well.

 

What is Nwasser?

We have few of the Tunisian main staple food. One of the nation’s favorite staples as to be Nwasser. Well, it is better to call it Tunisian pasta that it makes with millet or Durum semolina flour, and it is standardize by the Government for the authenticity the world needs to try. Honestly, it is not like a normal pasta, it is cooked in a different way and the making process involves slow and natural drying process.

Now, let’s talk about the flavor and texture of this beautiful Nwasser. It is very healthy, full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. The Nwasser is more like sheets of pasta that is cut into small squares. The cooking method involves rehydrating the pasta will a drizzle of olive oil and then steams in a pot called Couscoussier. The Couscoussier is more like a double boiler or steamer, it is not of the traditional pots that must to have. A steam pot from Walmart will do the job. The steaming Nwasser with olive oil gives it a soft yet elasticity. You can feel a bite and chewy, but the texture is perfect to soak in all the ingredients and their delicious aromas and flavor to come together as a dish.

Noe the main question that stands is how to make it. Well, the pasta influence may be Italian but there is a distinct way of cooking Nwasser. Traditionally it is made with tomato-based chicken sauce which is spicy and so hearty that you might want to have it again and again.

Another traditional ingredient that used in cooking Nwasser is the Tabel or Tabil. It has roots for Algeria and Arab. It is a spice blend of caraway seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and red chili flakes. If you ever ask for the local supermarket for Tabil, they might end up giving you just coriander seeds or powder since it is also considered as Tabil because of the good ratio of it in the spice blend.

As far where to buy the Nwasser is concerned, don’t worry about it. We have that here, the Nwasser by WARDA that it truly amazing and 100 percent authentic. 

So, all the ingredients in hand and why wait, let's dig into the recipe for Nwasser.

Instructions

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 400 grams or around 3 cups of Warda Nwasser
• 200 grams or 1 ½ cup of Chicken
• 3 large Tomatoes, chopped
• 1 medium Onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp Tomato paste or Tomato concentrate
• ½ cup Chickpeas
• 2 larger Potatoes, cubed into 2 inches thick pieces
• 4 large Red Chili
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 2 tsp Red chili powder
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 1 tbsp Tabel or adjust to taste
• 4 tbsp Olive oil
• Salt to taste
• Black Pepper to taste

Method

Step#1 Prepare the Garnish

Place the Couscoussier on the stovetop and remove the steamer. Add around 2 tbsp of olive oil in the bottom of the pot and let it heat on low heat. Once the oil is heated, fry the red chilies until slightly tanned and charred. Take it out and let it sit aside.

Step#2 Cook the sauce and Chicken

Now, in the same oil add chopped onions and tomatoes. Let it sauté for 2 minutes until the tomatoes are soft. Add chicken to the same pot and mix until the chicken changes its color. Add tomato paste, salt, pepper, red chili powder, tabel and turmeric along with chickpeas and 2 cups of water. Let the chicken shimmer for 15 minutes or until fully cooked and tender.

Step#3 Cook Nwasser

Meanwhile, take the Nwasser in a bowl and add 2 tbsp of olive oil and two pinches of salt over it. Mix them well with spoon. Put the Nwasser over the steamer part of the Couscoussier and place the steamer over the shimmer pot of chicken. Steam Nwasser for 10 minutes or until cooked. Also do keep stirring it to avoid clumps.

Step#4 Complete the sauce

Remove the steam and check the sauce and chicken. If the chicken is done cooking and some water from the sauce is left, add the potatoes. You can also add water for the potatoes to cook completely. Once the potatoes are cooked, shimmer all the extra liquid in the pot to make a sauce not to thick not to watery.

Step#5 Assemble the dish

Now, in a casserole dish, dish out the steamed Nwasser and top it with the chicken sauce and butter. Mix them all together well. Now bake the dish in the preheated oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes.

Step#6 Finish and Serve

Once the dish done baking. Mix and plate the Nwasser on a plate. Topped the dish with the roasted red chili over it.

 

Enjoy!