Once upon a time, long ago, in a land called Je-men, the Queen of Sheba ruled. One day, the queen fell ill with a strange disease. She was sad from morning till night, never laughed, hardly spoke, and lived only in dark rooms. Today, this illness is known as depression. Her husband, the king, summoned doctors and healers from near and far, but none of them could help her. And so the king and his people also lived in deep sorrow.

One day, a strange man from a distant land called Maghreb came to the royal palace. He was an alchemist by profession and claimed that, with God's help, he could cure the queen.

The king said, ‘If you can restore my queen's zest for life, I will make you a rich and famous man. Ask for whatever you need.’

And he assigned his vizier to assist him. The alchemist gave him a drawing of a two-part vessel that needed to be made as quickly as possible. Then he wrote a list of various ingredients, such as flour, lamb and all kinds of vegetables. After the stranger had received everything, he retired to the kitchen, took a bag of special spices from his leather bag and set to work.

After about three hours, a mild, sweet, completely unfamiliar scent wafted through the rooms of the palace. After another two hours, the alchemist reappeared carrying a large bowl filled with small round yellowish grains, also known as angel tears. On top of these were meat and vegetables, all covered with a thick red sauce.

The alchemist went to the queen, placed the food at her feet and said:

‘My lady, eat this every day and you will be healed.’

So the queen ate different kinds of couscous every day, and indeed, on the seventh day, she was seen walking happily and laughing in the gardens. She was cured! The king asked the alchemist to stay with him to teach this culinary art to his own cooks. This is how couscous first came to be known outside the Maghreb.

Aus: Naceur-Charles Aceval, Der Erzähler von Algier, Schönaich 2017, Übersetzung Mutabor Verlag