• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

CooksInfo

  • Home
  • Encyclopaedia
  • Kitchenware
  • Recipes
  • Food Calendar
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Encyclopaedia
  • Kitchenware
  • Food Calendar
×
Home » Grains » Mograbia

Mograbia

Mograbia (Mograbiah) is a larger version of couscous that is made into fatter pearls.

It is a version of couscous made in rural Palestine, though the name attributes its origin to the Maghreb region of North Africa.

It comes in different sizes, and hence some confusion over the name. Generally, the smaller-sized version (about 0.14 inch / 3.5 mm), traditional in Jordan, is called “maftoul.” The larger-sized version, (about 0.22 inch / 5.5 mm), traditional in Lebanon, is called “Mograbia.” [1] In the West particularly, the size and name distinction is muddled, and so “maftoul” is often used as a synonym for Mograbia. Both can be used interchangeably, so this confusion does no harm.

Mograbia is made from a moistened bulgur wheat paste, rolled into small balls, then coated with finely ground hard white wheat flour and dried. Traditionally, it was hand-rolled and sun dried.

After cooking in liquid, it swells up, and has a dense, chewy almost bouncy texture. It doesn’t have a strong flavour of its own, but rather absorbs flavours.

Mograbia can be used mixed into a main dish, or as the base for a main dish to be served on top of, or seasoned, as a side dish.

Nigel Slater has been popularizing Mograbia in the UK, calling for it as early as September 2008 in his Observer columns. In the UK, you can get it at Waitrose (£1.99 for 300g dried, 2011 prices) or at Middle Eastern grocers.

Note that Mograbia is not the same as Israeli Couscous, despite the confusion you may see elsewhere, though the two can be used similarly. Mograbia is coated; Israeli Couscous is an extruded paste. Note as well that the word “Maftoul” is sometimes incorrectly used in America to refer to Israeli Couscous.

Cooking Tips

Cook Mograbia as you would pasta, in a generous amount of boiling salted water, about 10 to 15 minutes, until al dente. Then drain well, and fluff with a fork to get rid of any lumps, then follow recipe.

Or, cook in stock (about 1 ½ portions of liquid to 1 portion of dried Mograbia), or or add a few handfuls to a saucy tagine about 30 minutes before the end of cooking.

Substitutes

Fregola pasta from Sardinia, bulgur wheat

Language Notes

Also spelt: mograbiah, moghrabieh, maghrebiyya. Aka Pearl Couscous, Maftoul.

Sources

[1] Grygus, Andrew. Couscous. 8 December 2008. Retrieved February 2011 from http://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/pa_cousz.html

Other names

AKA: Maftoul, Mograbiah, Pearl Couscous

This page first published: Feb 20, 2011 · Updated: Jun 14, 2018.

This web site generates income from affiliated links and ads at no cost to you to fund continued research · Information on this site is Copyright © 2025· Feel free to cite correctly, but copying whole pages for your website is content theft and will be DCMA'd.

Tagged With: Couscous

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Skylar! This is a fake profile talking about how I switched to a paleo diet and it helped my eczema and I grew 4". Trust me, I'm an online doctor.

More about me →

Popular

  • E.D. Smith Pumpkin Purée
    E.D. Smith recipe for pumpkin pie
  • Libby's Pumpkin Pie
    Libby’s recipe for pumpkin pie
  • Pie crust
    Pie Crust Recipe
  • Smokey Maple Pepper Glaze for Ham
    Smokey Maple Pepper Glaze for Ham

You can duplicate your homepage's trending recipes section in the sidebar to reinforce the internal linking.

We no longer recommend using a search bar, newsletter form or category drop-down menu in the sidebar. See the Modern Sidebar post for details.

If the block editor is not narrower than usual, simply save the page and refresh it.

Search

    Today is

  • Onion Ring Day
    Basket of onion rings
  • Chocolate Eclair Day
    Chocolate eclairs with chocolate cream filling

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About this site
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright enforced!
  • Terms & Conditions

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Site

  • Recipes
  • Encyclopaedia
  • Kitchenware
  • Food Calendar

This web site generates income from affiliated links and ads at no cost to you to fund continued research · The text on this site is © Copyright.