Yasmina Sellam was born in 1955 in Mila. She is an agronomist engineer, culinary chef, writer and television host.
On June 19, she won the first prize in the Gourmet World Awards 2025 competition in Lisbon (Portugal), in the “Culinary Culture” category for her work “The couscous. Roots and colors of Algeria ”published by Editions ANEP in 2024. In this interview with TSA Algeria, the Algerian culinary chef evokes all the characteristics of this sharing and conviviality. It also returns to the origins of couscous and its social role.
What are the different types of existing couscous?
We must make the difference between the recipes and the types of couscous. The types of couscous depend on a particular type of rolling, classified according to the size of the grain, called the particle size, that is to say the size of the grain. There are about nine. We have types of couscous made with grains other than hard wheat and barley: corn, millet and other cereals, without forgetting legumes.
We can therefore roll couscous with different ingredients and different plants. We also have couscous that are made with additions when driving. We add flower macerates to the example of The Hamama, El Helhal or rose petals. You can also reach cuttlefish ink to obtain a black couscous.
Once the grain is prepared, we make it a sauce. There we are talking about couscous recipes, and each couscous corresponds to a sauce. For example, the big couscous is never eaten with a white but rather red sauce. It is tradition among Algerians. In winter, with El Kedid (Darrier meat)we prepare a fairly large couscous that looks like the Berkoukes. During the wedding holidays, the finest couscous is prepared with a white sauce without vegetables.
What is couscous?
Many people classify couscous in the pasta department. It’s wrong! Couscous is not a food paste. It is a grain of semolina made thanks to the rolling: we put medium semolina, we sprinkle it with water and we add fine semolina called the dressing, Ecsi in Arabic. The resulting semolina grain is a grain wrapped in a shell that will prevent it from turning into dough when cooking or hydration.
What is the origin of couscous?
As an intellectual, I never give my conclusion. In my book, I provided the results of my survey. I give the results, and I let the readers draw their own conclusions.
You have a specialty: couscous with rose petals. How do you prepare it and what occasion is it served?
The couscous with rose petals and a festive couscous. It is served in eastern Algeria- wilaya of Mila- the day after marriage. In the past, when a girl married, the husband’s family came to get her alone.
But the next day, his family visited him. The women went out at dawn and traveled the journey on foot to the home of the new bride where they were welcomed with a rose couscous dish. A couscous which can be enjoyed with a rose coulis.
In Algeria, each region has its own couscous. Can you give us some examples?
In addition to the couscous with the rose specific to the Mila region, there is a couscous with cuttlefish ink prepared by the fishermen of the Mostaganem and Ténès regions. When they return from fishing, these men color the couscous with ink pockets. The cuttlefish will then be used to make the sauce. Result: a black couscous, very specific! There is also the couscous of Timimoun or Touat which is a green couscous because, in this region, the relative humidity is very low.
Plants dry while keeping their color green. The plants are then reduced to powder and added when rolling the couscous, thus obtaining a delicious couscous called Esrayer. I will also quote El Mziyet, A couscous made from the fermented grain. In The Matmourate, Underground silos that existed since Antiquity in Algeria, the grain was kept. The latter was protected from rodents and insects but not from water streams. Also, when the water enters the seed, it inflates, germinates and gives off a particular odor.
The grain is blackened. It is used for the rolling of a fairly large couscous which is available in two versions: one scented with oils of the walls of the silo, consumed by the rich. The less affluent environments reduce the seeds to obtain a couscous that will have a less pronounced fragrance.
Is Morocco right to claim the authorship of couscous? Who is the couscous right?
All the countries of the world claim something. The Pavlova belongs to whom, Australia or New Zealand? Who are the Socca and the Calentita to? These wars between countries are normal. For my part, I believe that being continuously in the claim is intolerance. All countries have a heritage and sometimes, in neighboring countries there is a common origin because of cultural proximity.
When two civilizations rub shoulders, exchanges are always made in both directions. Let us stop making these verbal wars which are absolutely useless! A heritage is not stolen because it is already fixed in historical books. It is enough for us, we Algerians, to go and seek in these works and claim what we want to claim.
What are the opportunities when couscous is served to the guests?
In Algeria, couscous has an extraordinary social role, from Numidia and perhaps even before. Couscous is part of our diet. It is a friendly dish, a dish of sharing that plays a role of bringing people together. In addition, in our society, he accompanies the human being of his birth at his grave. For all circumstances, whether happy or sad, couscous is still there. I call it “Divine Met” because it is above all the other dishes of our gastronomy.
You have just won the first prize in the Gourmand World Awards 2025 competition in Lisbon in the “Culinary Culture” category. Did you expect this consecration?
I wanted it … But as I already had a first prize in 2023, I had a doubt especially that the competitors came from large gastronomic countries like Mexico, Sweden, Turkey, France …
Maybe I thought I was tearing up a second or third place but not the first. I am proud to have represented my country and to have won this award.
