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Sweets

Algerian Sweets and Dessert

Tamina

Tamina is a very old Algerian recipe. Traditionally it is served to celebrate the birth of a baby, and all happy events, however many people eat it whenever they get the craving for something seriously sweet! For the Tamina we need Semolina, butter and honey. It is most commonly served in small plates & people each have a small spoon with which to eat it, you can of course, serve individual portions.

Makrout

Makrout is an Algerian specialty and is the signature cookie for all Algerian celebrations.It is made out of semolina, butter and filled with either ground almonds or dates. It is shaped into diamonds, then fried and immersed in orange blossom flavored honey...........heavenly good!!

Baklawa

Baklawa is a Mediterranean dessert made with Fillo pastries, nuts, butter, and sugar. After baking to perfection, a sweet syrup is immediately poured over the pieces allowing the syrup to be absorbed into the layers. Baklawa varieties contain honey, walnuts, pistachios, pine nuts, almonds, or other nuts common to the Mediterranean and the Middle East. In many countries, baklawa is an excellent compliment to coffee. Baklawa is used in weddings, family get-togethers, and various other feasts and celebrations.

Zlabia

 

Zlebia or Zlabia is a type of pastry eaten in parts of north-west Africa such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. Typical ingredients include flour, yeast, yoghurt, and sugar. This is then mixed with water and commonly two seeds of cardamom (oil for the crackling).

*An Algerian wedding is an occasion to taste at least three types of cakes beautifully presented in an pretty  box ,most Algerians offer other types of cakes to be eaten with tea like (Makrout, Greewesh ...ext) however the European style cake is also present.

 

What can I say about Algerian cookies: beautiful, extremely tasty, rich, distinctive and definitely different from any other cookie you've ever seen or tasted. There are many different types of cookies depending on the region. most of these delicacies originate from the capital Algiers Although the west and east of algeria has participated a lot in ameliorating these last .All types are delicious looking and tasting. Most of these cookies are made with almonds and some other nuts (walnuts, pistachios...). Sometimes made entirely with nuts and others include an outer layer of different types of doughs. The main flavorings are orange blossom water or rose water and citrus (lemon). Sometimes we add vanilla for extra flavor.A new taste of the Mediterranean cuisine,Each our sweets is carefully handmade So be sure you will not regret the authentic taste and natural flavors of the old Algiers' recipes.

Algerian Traditional Food

Algerian Traditional Food

Generally, traditional Algerian cuisine, a colorful combination of Berber, Turkish, French and Arab tastes, can be either very mild or packed with flavorful seasonings. Ginger, saffron, onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, parsley and mint are essential in any Algerian pantry. The cuisine of Algeria presents colors, perfumes and flavors.

COUSCOUS

Couscous is to Algerians what pasta is to Italians and rice is to the Chinese. Berber (native North Africans) by origin, it is the main dish of the most happy events (like wedding feasts) and even the worst.

It has also something of spirituality. In many Algerian homes, the week could not end without Friday afternoon’s bowl of couscous. The association of couscous with these festivities also attaches it to the concepts of abundance, fertility and barakah (God’s blessing). If somebody, for example, escaped miraculously from a misfortune, he would hurry to thank God by organizing a waada, in which he has to distribute bowls of couscous to the poor people.

In Algiers, couscous is simply called al taam (the food). This name is certainly symbolic of the importance of couscous in the country.

Making couscous is traditionally a female activity that involves much work. On a big flat plate, the woman in charge puts a handful of freshly ground hard wheat, sprinkles on salted water and a bit of flour, and with her palms rolls the grain until the couscous granules appear.    

A versatile dish, couscous can be mixed with vegetables and legumes — mostly zucchinis, carrots, tomatoes, turnips and chickpeas. The meat served with the couscous differs from one region to another.

While Algerians make couscous with every kind of meat (chicken, lamb, beef, turkey, rabbit and even camel)…. 

 

Chakhechoukha

Chakhchoukha, chekhechoukha or chakhchoura is a dish of the Algerian cuisine, eaten often on festive celebrations, especially popular in the Aurès region. The dish consists in tearing small pieces of Rougag (thin round flatbread) and mixing them with Marqa, a stew.

The rougag or flat bread is made with fine semolina and, after baking, is torn by hand into small pieces. When eating in individual plates, about two handfuls are put in the plate and then the sauce or stew is poured on top.
The marqa or stew consists of diced lamb cooked with spices, tomatoes, chopped onions and chick peas. Often potatoes, zucchini, carrots and green peppers are added to the mixture depending on the season, the area and the family.
Algeria has a lot of chakhchoukha’s shape:

flat bread cut by hand

Chakhchoukha edfar (nail chakhchoukha) flat bread cut by nails into small pieces

Trida (flat bread cut by scissors in squares)

Algerian traditional bread

Kessra ‘Algerian flat semolina bread'

The word Kessra in Algeria refers to a kind of everyday flat bread. Other kinds of bread are called Khoubz. Although homemade bread is confined to rural areas in most Arab countries, Kessra is still made on a regular basis in most Algerian homes. For this purpose, all households are equipped with a tabouna (a kind of small gas cooker) and tagine (flat clay griddle).

 tajine                                                                                       

tabouna

Some Algerians say, if you have semolina and a tagine, your family will never go hungry. Algerian love this bread

The recipe uses semolina, a bit of oil and yeast. It produces bread with a soft kind of crumbly texture. It is quick and easy to make. It goes with most of savoury or sweet accompaniments. There are another two kinds of Algerian flat breads;

·         Rakhssess رخساس: thin, dense and crumbly: no yeast but more oil.

·         Matlou’ or  Khmira مطلوع، خميرة: thick, soft and chewy: no oil more yeast.

 Charchem

It is a taditional dish known by all the inhabitants of Algeria.It is wheat cooked in water and salt. Algerians prepare it on the occasion of the emergence of the baby's teeth as an expression of the parents’ happiness. It is served in small dishes and distributed to all elatives and neighbours. Some parts of western Algeria prepared it also after harvest.  

 

 

Algerian Food

Ramadhan

All about Ramadan in Algeria

Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. It enjoys a special importance around the Islamic world.

Algiers- Algerians differ in the way they prepare for and celebrate the Holy month of Ramadan. Most people however make it an occasion of family unity, service to society and supporting one another. However, there are the few who use the month to make illegitimate profits. Although Ramadan is supposed to be a month of mercy, generosity, good works and observing what is allowed by God, many Algerian merchants and dealers seek unlawful profits during Ramadan.

Although many Ramadan traditions have changed over time in Algeria, preparations for the month remain the same. Algerians get ready for it weeks before it starts.

Religious practice, like fasting during the day and praying during the night, is common weeks before Ramadan. For women, however, the preparations are not strictly religious; setting up the house to receive guests during the month - a tradition for decades - is a must.

Before Ramadan, women take the responsibility of cleaning the house. Some women go to the extreme of totally making over the whole house; refurbishing and painting.

Algerian women usually buy new cooking utensils, which will be used in cooking the heavy meals and big banquets, and purchase new dishes. The household menu during Ramadan in Algeria can not be conceived without certain traditional dishes and foods. The Algerian soup al- Harira or al-Hisaa, as the people call it, is a must and is accompanied by home-made bread called al-Kasra. Seasonings and spices are usually added to different types of food.

Al-Buraq, paste filled with cheese and minced meat. 

Bourek

There is also a famous dish that is eaten at sohour (the last meal before the dawn) which is messefouf( couscous served with dried raisins ans sugar) coupled with milk.

messefouf

Almonds, Baklava and Zalabiya (a round donut-like sweet dipped in honey or sugar) is on the top of the long list of Arabian sweets that Algerians eat during Ramadan.  

zelabiya

Algerians have special Ramadan traditions that distinguish them from other Muslims. In Ramadan, the heads of the families take their young boys, shave their heads completely and circumcise them as the last ten days of Ramadan approach, deemed the holiest and the most blessed of all the month.

Also, the child that fasts throughout Ramadan for the first time is given a special gift to encourage him to fast again and reward him for the behaviour, considered a sign of piety and goodness.

In the breaking-of-fast meal, the child is usually given a sweet, cold drink where a gold or silver ring is place inside as a present. The ritual signifies the beginning of a life based on piety and religious observance.

Some workers take official holidays during Ramadan, preferring to sleep during the day in the absence of coffee and cigarettes. Tempers are usually affected by the lack of food, with some people remaining irritable and nervy until they break their fast.

Observant muslims eat a morning meal, the Suhoor, before dawn. The fast is broken each evening with a meal called the iftar. Traditionally, the first bite of food for the iftar is a date and perhaps a sip of milk. These are followed by heartier fare, coffee and tea. Friends and family often gather together to share the experience.

Iftar traditions vary widely around the world. Muslims in many countries eat dishes that are typical for their region the year round. In other countries, special dishes are particularly associated with the iftar meal.

Harira is a soup from the Maghreb region of North Africa that is especially popular as an iftar meal to break the daily fast during Ramadan. There are innumerable variations of this hearty, healthy soup, but most recipes are for chunks of lamb slow simmered with tomatoes, chickpeas, spices and herbs.

chorba or hriara

Lahm lhalou, Arabic for "sweet meat," is a very popular dish in Algeria, especially during the month of Ramadan. The daylong fast is broken first with dates, then with mouthfuls of this unctuous and fragrant dish of tender lamb simmered with sweet fruits.

lham lahlou

In Algeria, especially in the area where I live, women prepare "MESFOUF"…It's an important dish prepared of fine couscous,   butter, sugar and dry raisins (ZABIB) served with glasses of milk.. this meal keeps hunger away and provides the body with the necessary energy.

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