Couscous

We were at a friend's house last night for a delicious meal, which included couscous, and the discussion turned to what is couscous. I always thought it was pasta, sort of like pastini, which according to Wikipedia is about half right:

Couscous (pronounced /ˈkʊskʊs/ or /ˈkuːskuːs/) is a food consisting of spherical granules made by rolling and shaping moistened semolina wheat and then coating them with finely ground wheat flour. The finished granules are about one millimetre in diameter before cooking. The name couscous is also used for prepared dishes made from other grains, such as barley, pearl millet, sorghum, rice or maize.

Attiéké, a variety of couscous that is a staple food in Côte d'Ivoire and is also known to surrounding areas of West Africa, made from grated cassava.

But I discovered that couscous is steamed. What we had last night was very light and fluffy, so I'm thinking it was steamed, although I need to confirm that with the chef. I need to know how to make it -- I think it's the first time I've had it where I really enjoyed it. So now I'm in the market for a couscous steamer! Actually I'll try it with the steamer I have. Wikipedia says you can do that, just cover the bottom with cheese cloth to keep them from falling through the bigger holes. I still have some pearled barley, and I may try it and see if it tastes like couscous. Or better yet, I'll just get a couscous lesson from Juste.