Arabic tomato sauce with chicken (Marka) and couscous

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 3 large chicken legs, whole, with skin
• 1 carrot(s)
• 1 onion(s)
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ red bell pepper(s)
• some oil
• n. B. water
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 cube of beef broth
• some salt
• 2 tsp spice mix (Ras El Hanout)
• 1 tsp paprika powder, mild
• some water, warm
• 1 tbsp tomato paste (concentrate)
• 300 ml tomato(s), pureed
• 100 g couscous
• some harissa
• some parsley

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 50 minutes

Marka with various vegetables and fried chicken in tomato sauce

First, heat water in a large pot and dissolve a little salt and 1 vegetable stock cube in it. Briefly rinse the chicken thighs and let them simmer in the stock for 20 minutes. In the meantime, peel the carrot, onion, and garlic cloves. Roughly chop the carrot and onion, and cut the deseeded bell pepper into thin strips. Fry everything in a little oil until the onions are translucent. Skim off some of the chicken fat (which has collected on the surface of the stock) and set aside. Remove the chicken thighs from the water and let them cool slightly. Once they have cooled, peel off the skin and remove the meat from the bone, setting aside some of the larger pieces. Add the rest of the meat to the vegetables. Add the paprika and 1 teaspoon of Ras El Hanout and fry everything together until the spices are fragrant. Dissolve 1 cube of beef stock and the tomato paste in a little warm water and add the liquid to the vegetables, simmering for 1 minute. Now add the passata, a little harissa, and 1 teaspoon of ras el hanout, and simmer gently over low heat for about 25 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the couscous by placing it in a deep plate, adding a few tablespoons of hot water, and stirring well. Brown the reserved, larger pieces of meat in their own fat (which you previously skimmed off) and season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, season the sauce with a little salt or ras el hanout to taste. Once the couscous has swollen, skim off some of the oil that has settled on the surface of the sauce and mix it into the couscous until it is fluffy, then stir in some parsley. Serve everything together on a plate, ideally with fresh flatbread. “Ras el hanout” is an Arabic spice blend often found in Middle Eastern cuisine. You can find “Ras el hanout” in Arabic shops. “Harissa” is a spicy Arabic spice paste that you can find in Arabic shops, but also in larger supermarkets. Don’t be too generous with the salt, otherwise the sauce will be overpowering! You can add other vegetables if you like, such as a potato, fennel, green peas, or chickpeas. Instead of couscous, you can also serve rice with the sauce. This dish is typically Tunisian and almost tastes like my dear father-in-law’s “Marka” – very, very delicious!