🇩🇿 Algerian Spicy dish from Bousaada region called Zviti

First of all, prepare the semolina galette.

Sift the semolina in a large bowl.

Add salt.

Add water gradually and mix with hands until the dough gets together. The dough shouldn’t be too hard. It has to be soft and easy to work with.

Roll the dough into a ball.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for few minutes.

In meantime, put the jalapeño and Anaheim peppers in a baking dish and bake them in a 400°F preheated oven for about 15 minutes(more or less depending on your oven).

Put the tomatoes and Red Hot Chili Peppers in a saucepan. Cover with water.

Put the saucepan over medium heat and let boil for 5 to 10 minutes.

Now get back to the dough ball.

Flatten the dough with a rolling pin into about 1/2 inch thick galette. Make sure to prick the galette surface with a folk in both sides.

Cook the galette in a griddle (or Tajin as it is called in Algeria), over medium to medium low heat.

Cook both sides of the galette and make sure to cook the edges. Use a kitchen mitten to press on the galette during cooking process to help it cook evenly or use a metal spatula for that.

Cut the galette into 4 pieces then use your hands to tear the galette into very small pieces (please check the YouTube video above). Set aside.

Get back to the peppers and tomatoes.

Remove the outer skin and ribs of the baked peppers ( Anaheim and jalapeño). Set aside.

Remove the tomatoes and hot chili peppers from water. Make sure to keep that boiled water to be used later.

Remove the outer skin of the tomatoes, crush them with a folk and set aside.

Take a wooden mortar, usually a tall wooden mortar (Mehrez) is used for this recipe but I don’t have one so I’ve used a small one that I have in hands.

Put garlic cloves in the mortar and crush them with a wooden pestle.

Add about 1 teaspoon salt for now.

Add coriander and fennel powders.

Add the hot chili peppers and the rest of peppers ( Anaheim and jalapeño).

Keep crushing everything with the wooden pestle then add the crushed tomatoes.

Add tomato paste and chopped cilantro(keep about 1 tablespoon of cilantro for serving).

Mix everything with a pestle. Put in another dish and set this tomato pepper mix aside.

Now let’s assemble the Zviti.

Take the wooden mortar (Arabic مهراز, pronounced Mehrez) and put about 1 tablespoon of tomato pepper mix.

Add a handful amount of galette pieces.

Use the wooden pestle to crush everything together.

Add the boiled water(about 1/2 cup) that we used to cook the tomatoes and hot chili peppers.

Keep crushing everything.

Add 1 tablespoon of tomato pepper mix then again the galette pieces. Crush again with a pestle.

Keep adding the boiled water until you get the right consistency. The final dish should not be too runny nor too dry. Alternate between tomato pepper mix, galette pieces and boiled water.

Once everything is well crushed, check for the seasoning and add salt if needed.

Add olive oil to your liking. Mix well.

Garnish with cilantro (optional).

Serve this dish (Zviti) with a cup of buttermilk.