Semolina & Couscous

Semolina is the coarse, golden meal milled from durum wheat, and couscous is semolina rolled into tiny pellets. This category of our atta and flour department covers semolina, sooji and rava for Indian and Sri Lankan cooking, and couscous for North African and Middle Eastern dishes.

Sooji is the North Indian name and rava the South Indian one, but they mean the same grain. Grind decides the dish: fine semolina for halwa, sheera, rava ladoo, cakes and gulab jamun dough; coarse for upma, rava idli, rava dosa and kesari; extra coarse and grits for a nubbly upma and porridge. Roasted sooji saves a step, and idli rava, which is coarse ground rice, is sold here too.

Couscous needs no cooking in the usual sense: pour over boiling stock, cover, and it is ready in five minutes. Medium couscous is the most common, a good partner to tagines, roasted vegetables and salads.

Roast semolina in a dry pan or with a little ghee until it smells nutty and turns a shade darker before making upma or halwa; it keeps the grains separate and adds flavour. Store semolina airtight, as it attracts weevils in a warm kitchen.