Houria is a Tunisian salad made with carrots, harissa, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, caraway seeds, and salt. The salad is inexpensive and very easy to prepare. The carrots should be boiled and then lightly smashed into a purée. The purée is then combined with all other ingredients, and the salad is typically garnished with finely chopped parsley on top.

However, there are many versions of this dish, so it is not uncommon to see hard-boiled eggs, olives, crumbled feta cheese, or coriander in the salad, which is typically served as a side dish, but it can also be consumed on its own.

Numerous tiny, light, tender grains, ideally arranged to form a pyramid and served on a platter at the end of a meal - that is couscous, the national dish of Morocco and Algeria and a must-have dish in any Moroccan and Algerian restaurant. The word itself refers both to the complete dish and the tiny grains of semolina.

Semolina flour is sprinkled with water until it forms into tiny pellets that are then pushed through a sieve. Couscous is usually prepared on Fridays for lunch, when whole families get together for the most important meal of the week. The dish is traditionally made in a metal steamer pot called a couscoussier, where the stew is on the bottom, while the small grains are in the perforated basket on top, cooking in the steam that is rising from the rich stew. 

Kafteji is a traditional dish made with fried vegetables. Typical veggies used in the dish include eggplants, bell peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchinis, and pumpkins. The vegetables are fried, chopped, then combined with (often fried) eggs and seasonings.

The dish is often sprinkled with parsley or coriander, and it's then served as a side to poultry or fish, although it can be eaten as it is. Kafteji is also a popular Tunisian street food, often served in a baguette.

Loubia is a traditional North African dish consisting of stewed white beans. This dish is very popular in Moroccan, Tunisian, Algerian, and Libyan homes, where the beans that have been simmered in a zesty tomato-based sauce are typically scooped up with homemade flatbread.

It is comfort food that can be served both as an appetizer, garnished with some coriander or parsley, and as a side dish - especially when used as an accompaniment to fried fish. Simple, quick, and delicious - it is unsurprising that loubia is commonly found in homes throughout Maghreb region.