Recipes for Ramadan

2008-09-25

During the holy month of Ramadan, families across the Maghreb are seeking both classic and new meals to break their fasts each evening. Magharebia has gathered several recipes from the region to contribute to the richness and variety of your ftour table.

[Iman Belhaj] As families cover their tables with a rich variety of dishes to break their fast, Magharebia is offering several recipes from throughout the Maghreb region for readers to try.

Algerian Recipes

Bounarine Tagine

• 250g chicken breasts
• 1 handful chickpeas, soaked overnight
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 eggs
• 150 g red cheese
• 1 bunch parsley
• Black pepper
• Salt

Dice the chicken breasts. Fry them and drain off the fat. Boil the chickpeas in salted water, with a bay leaf. In a large bowl, mix together the chicken pieces, the cooked chickpeas, the black pepper, the salt and the finely-chopped parsley. Turn the mixture into a buttered oven-safe dish. Over this, pour the eggs, beaten together with half the grated cheese. Finally, sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top and brown in the oven.

Baraniya

• 1 chicken
• 1 small onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 handful chickpeas, soaked overnight, or a handful of blanched almonds
• 6 eggs
• 200g grated gruyere cheese
• 250g dry bread or rusks
• 1 tablespoon s’men or butter
• ½ glass oil
• 1 pinch baking powder
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 1 pinch black pepper
• Salt

Clean out, sear and wash the chicken, then cut it into pieces. Put the chicken pieces in a cooking pot. Chop the onion and add to the pot. Add the s’men (or butter) and the oil. Brown for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the caraway, ground together with the garlic and salt.

Add water until it is just covered. Once it has come up to the boil, add the chickpeas or almonds and leave to simmer until the chicken is perfectly cooked. While this is happening, mix together the bread, eggs, grated gruyere, black pepper, baking powder and salt.

Take the chicken pieces out and place them in a buttered oven-proof dish. Add a few spoonfuls of the sauce, put the bread mixture on top and place in the oven. Bake for as long as necessary. Remove the dish and drizzle with the hot sauce and vinegar.

Casbah Tagine

• 6 pieces mutton (preferably leg)
• 1 onion
• 1 handful chick peas, soaked overnight
• Several sprigs of parsley, chopped
• 6 eggs
• ½ lemon
• 1 tablespoon s’men or butter
• 2 tablespoons oil
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• Salt

In a casserole, brown the pieces of meat, the chopped onion, oil, butter, cinnamon, black pepper and salt over a gentle heat. Cover with half a litre of water. Once the mixture comes to a boil, add the chickpeas and simmer gently, covered, until the meat is cooked.

Remove the meat from the bones. Place the meat in a buttered oven-safe dish. Drizzle with several spoonfuls of the sauce in which it was cooked and coat with the eggs, which have been beaten together with the parsley, lemon juice, cinnamon, black pepper and salt. Put in a hot oven and brown for 10 minutes.

Take the dish out and drizzle with the remaining sauce. Garnish with the chick peas and serve in the cooking dish.

Djeldjlania

• 1kg roasted ground peanuts
• 125g granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pinch brewer’s yeast
• ½ cup melted butter
• 6 egg whites 2
• 50g djeldjlene (sesame seeds), grilled
• 2 glasses honey

In a terrine, mix the peanuts, sugar, vanilla and butter. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the yeast and then 4 egg whites, one at a time. You will now have a dough. Gather it up and form it into sausage shapes, which you will then flatten slightly by hand, then cut into triangles. Dip them in the 2 remaining egg whites, which have been lightly beaten, then coat them in the sesame seeds. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Once the cakes are cooked, dip them in warmed honey. Put in small cake cases to serve.

Moroccan Recipes

Harira soup

Ingredients:

• 1 medium cup of chickpeas
• 1 medium cup of lentils
• 1 small cup of rice
• 1 diced onion – 2 crushed tomatoes – 1 large tbsp of canned tomatoes
• finely chopped parsley, coriander and celery
• ginger, salt, pepper
• saffron or turmeric for colour
• some oil or butter
• flour and water
• diced meat or chicken

Fry the diced onion and meat in butter or oil. Add the chickpeas, lentils, crushed tomatoes, parsley, coriander and celery. Add the spices, as well as half the amount of water until all ingredients are covered. Let the mixture simmer until the meat is cooked, approximately 30 to 35 minutes. Add rice, since it cooks relatively quickly, along with a teaspoon of canned tomatoes. Finally, dissolve the flour in a bit of water. Stir well to avoid any lumps, then add to the soup and stir for a few minutes. The soup is now ready and should be served hot.

Tips: Rice can be replaced with vermicelli. Instead of meat, you can break a raw egg into the Harira pot. The amounts of lentil, chickpeas and rice may vary depending on whether you prefer your Harira light or with a more creamy texture. Many people prepare enough Harira ingredients to last several days.

Balboula or barley soup

• 1/2 kg of balboula (barley flour)
• Water
• 1/2 liter of milk
• Cresson and nigella seeds to taste
• A pinch of fenugreek (a nutritious digestive aid)

Add the cresson, fenugreek and nigella seeds to boiling water and continue boiling for five minutes. Add the balboula. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add one liter of milk and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Garnish with olive oil or crushed thyme.

[Iman Belhaj] Msemen, or Moroccan tartlets, can be stuffed with ground or dried meat, olives, or any other favourite ingredient. Cooked msemen may be frozen and saved for later use.

Moroccan Tartlets (Msemen)

• 250g white flour
• 150g of wheat flour
• 1 1/4 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/4 tablespoon yeast
• 100g melted butter mixed with some oil
• (this will make about 7 tartlets)

Blend both types of flour in a pot. Add warm water, yeast and salt. Knead well until mixture is a moist paste. Let stand for 15 minutes or slightly longer until it starts to bubble. Form as many small balls as desired. Flatten each ball on an oiled surface. Use the butter and oil mixture to form the msemen into circles. Sprinkle with flour and fold into four corners to form small squares and then flatten once more. When all balls have been flattened, fry on both sides in a deep fryer.

Tips: msemen can be stuffed with ground or dried meat, olives, or any other favourite ingredient. Cooked msemen may be frozen and saved for later use.

Tunisian Recipes

Chocolate Balls

• 40g of chocolate
• 100g of butter
• 100g of ground almonds
• 4 teaspoons of cocoa powder
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons of flower water
• Cream fraiche

Blend melted chocolate and butter. Stir in cream and egg yolks. Whip the mixture to the consistency of cream. Add almonds and cocoa powder. Form the batter into small balls. Cool the balls in the fridge for at least half an hour. Chocolate balls can be served cold in the evening.

Zalabia

• 1kg of flour
• 200g of sugar syrup or honey
• 200g of bread yeast
• 50g of butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric
• 3/4 liter of water
• Oil for frying

Mix the sifted flour and salt in a bowl and create a hole in the middle. Dissolve the turmeric in some cold water for coloring. Dissolve the yeast in 1/5 liter of warm water. Whip up eggs and pour the mixture into the hole. Blend in softened butter, the turmeric and the yeast mixture. Knead the batter well. While continuing to mix, gradually add tepid water until the batter has a liquid consistency. Set aside in a warm place until the yeast activates the mixture and it froths. Heat the oil. Use a cornet with a small hole or a can with a hole at the bottom to drop small balls between 3-6cm in diameter into the oil. Turn the balls. Lift the balls out of the hot oil with a strainer and place immediately in cold sugar syrup. Continue to fry the rest of the zalabia mixture the same way.