Month: April 2019

Posted on

Algerian chickpea Pie โ€“ Garantita

Algerian chickpea pie called Garantita has other names such as Karantika, Calentica or Calentita. It may have other names, depends on the region.

The origin of this dish is from Spain, when the Spanish empire invaded the west of Algeria (Oran) in the early 16th century.

Garantita has a flan texture and it is usually sold by street vendors over a good French baguette with cumin and Harissa, that Maghrebi hot chili pepper paste. This is a very cheap dish in Algeria but yet very filling and yummy.

In a large bowl, mix all the chickpea pie ingredients until smooth. The batter is fluid, just like crepes batter.
Pour the batter in a baking pan or baking dish and bake in a 400ยฐF preheated oven for about 30 minutes.
  • Served with the Moroccan bread ( Batbout), in this picture.

Sprinkle with cumin to your liking, drizzle with olive oil and serve  with a French baguette or any other type of bread and Harissa or your favorite hot sauce.

5 from 9 votes
Print

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 6
Author LDS’s Mom

Ingredients

  • 2 cups chickpea flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 tsp salt
  • ยผ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp cumin powder and more for sprinkling
  • Harissa for serving or your favorite hot sauce

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk the chickpea flour,baking powder, eggs, oil, salt, pepper, cumin and water. Whisk for about 5 minutes or until smooth. The batter is fluid just like the crepes batter.

  2. Pour in a slightly buttered pan, round or rectangular. I have used a 9ร—7 inch Pyrex pan in this recipe.

  3. Bake in a 400 ยฐF preheated oven for about 30 minutes. I placed the pie under the broiler for the last 10 minutes until golden brown.

  4. Sprinkle with cumin to your liking, drizzle with olive oil and serve hot with a French baguette or any other type of bread and Harissa or your favorite hot sauce.

Posted on

Hand Rolled Barley Couscous

For those who think that hand rolled couscous is out of fashion, this is for you. It’s a hand rolled couscous from Dallas, Texas,…Hooray!

Couscous is a staple food in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Egypt,  Libya and also in Israel, as so may Jews are of North African origin.

Couscous is called ูƒุณูƒุณ in Arabic and Sekssu in Berber. Couscous is originally a Maghreb dish from the Berbers who used it as early as the 7th century. They hand roll it from scratch.

So many people refrain from hand rolling the couscous as it is time consuming and because it is available in stores in now days. Other people still hand roll the couscous.
In some regions of Algeria, especially the Berber regions, women gather to hand roll a big quantity of couscous in one day, then they let it dry on a large clean sheet for days at air temperature. Once the couscous is dry, they reserve it for whenever they need it. 

In some of the Maghreb countries, couscous is present in great occasions such as weddings and religious celebrations. It is also present in certain regions of Algeria every weekend, usually on Fridays (weekends fall on Fridays and Saturdays), since all the family gather over the weekend. It is prepared with chicken, beef or lamb stew and vegetables. Since the meat (lamb or beef) and poultry are still expensive in Algeria for some families, couscous can be prepared with just vegetable stew or different recipes that don’t require any meat or poultry and that is a meal for weekdays.

Couscous is traditionally made of semolina. You can make it with a mixture of Semolina and barley flour (or barley semolina) just like in this recipe. Somewhere else in the word, couscous can be made from something else like cornmeal in Brazil.

Put about 1 cup of the semolina barley mixture in a large bowl.
Put about 1 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small bowl.
Place the medium bowl with the semolina barley mixture close to the bowl of water.
Start hand rolling the couscous by spraying the semolina mixture in the large bowl with water mixture.
Mix the semolina with your hands, by moving them in a circular motion. Roll for about 5 minutes.
Add a handful of the dry semolina mixture from the medium bowl to the wet semolina. Try to roll the couscous again by moving your hands in a circular motion and pressing on the palm of your hands.
Once you feel that the couscous is dry,  sift it in the tamis that has large holes. Use your hand to press on the rolled couscous in the tamis to help pass it through.
Roll the couscous with the palm of your hands for 3 to 4 minutes. 
Use the second tamis to sift the couscous and remove the fine semolina.
Place the final product (final couscous) in the top of a food steamer (Assekssuth in Berber or Kaskas-ูƒูŽุณู’ูƒุงุณ In arabic and couscoussier in French). 
Don’t steam yet until you roll more couscous or until you deplete the semolina barley mixture.You will end up having the final product (couscous) in the top of a steamer and fine semolina in the large bowl (you can use it for next time as a couscous starter but you have to let it dry at room temperature).
Place the fine semolina in a tray to be used next time.
Dump the final product (couscous) in the large bowl and roll the couscous for the last time, with the palm of your hands to make sure that the grains are almost even. Roll for 3 to 4 minutes.
Steam the couscous for about 15 minutes or until no couscous stick to your hand when you touch it.
Place the top of the steamer contaning couscous on  a small bowl in a sink, and pour on the couscous about 1 to 2 cups cold water.
Let the water completely pass through then pour the couscous in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt to taste.
Fluff it with a folk and steam again for about 15 minutes.

Pour couscous in the large bowl and fluff it again with a folk then drizzle with about 2 tablespoons olive oil and mix it well with hands. Note that you can pass the couscous through the tamis that has large holes if some of the couscous want fluff.
5 from 11 votes
Print

Hand Rolled Barley Couscous

Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 4
Author LDS’s Mom

Ingredients

  • 2 cups medium semolina
  • 1 cup barley flour
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Water

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, mix the semolina and the barley flour. Set aside.
  2. Put about 1 cup of the semolina barley mixture in a large bowl. Set aside.
  3. Put about 1 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small bowl.
  4. Place the small bowl with the water mixture on the right side of the large bowl (if you are right handed).
  5. Place the medium bowl with the semolina barley mixture close to the bowl of water.
  6. Get the pair of tamis close to the large bowl.
  7. Start hand rolling the couscous by spraying the semolina mixture in the large bowl with water mixture.
  8. Mix the semolina with your hands, by moving them in a circular motion. Keep rolling the couscous and sprinkle with water as needed. Make sure to not sprinkle a lot of water so that you want obtain a dough.
  9. Add a handful of the dry semolina mixture of the medium bowl to the wet semolina.
  10. Try to roll the couscous again by moving your hands in a circular motion and pressing on the palm of your hands. That’s how tiny granules form.
  11. Once you feel that the couscous is dry, gather it in one side of the large bowl and place a tamis in the other side of the bowl (the tamis that has large holes).
  12. Place the rolled couscous in the tamis and sift it. Use your hand to press on the rolled couscous in the tamis to help pass it through. There will be some of the doughy mixture that want pass through the tamis, that’s ok (it will be discarded when you finish rolling the couscous).
  13. Roll the couscous again with the palm of your hands then use the second tamis to sift the couscous and remove the fine semolina.
  14. Place the final product (final couscous) in the top of a food steamer (Assekssuth in Berber or Kaskas-ูƒูŽุณู’ูƒุงุณ In arabic and couscoussier in French). Don’t steam yet until you roll more couscous or until you deplete the semolina barley mixture.
  15. Repeat step 7 to step 14 until you deplete the semolina mixture in the medium bowl.
  16. You will end up having the final product (couscous) in the steamer and fine semolina in the large bowl(you can use it for next time as a couscous starter but you have to let it dry at room temperature).
  17. Place the pot or the bottom of the steamer half filled with water on the stove, over medium heat until the water boil.
  18. Place the top of the steamer containing couscous on the pot.
  19. Let steam for 15 minutes or until no couscous stick to your hand when you touch it.
  20. Place the top of the steamer with couscous on small bowl in a sink, and pour on the couscous about 1 to 2 cups cold water.
  21. Let the water completely pass through then pour the couscous in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt to taste.
  22. Fluff the couscous with a fork until all the grains separate.
  23. Place the couscous for the second time in the top of the steamer and let it steam for 15 minutes or until the couscous does not stick to your hands when you touch it.
  24. Pour the couscous directly in the large bowl and fluff it with a folk again. Let it cool a little bit then drizzle with about 2 tablespoons olive oil and mix it well with hands. Note that you can pass the couscous through the tamis that has large holes if some of the couscous want fluff.
  25. Enjoy with a beef, lamb or chicken stew, with steamed vegetables, with a cup of buttermilk, you name it.

Recipe Notes

I did not find barley semolina (semoule d’orge in French) so I have used barley flour (fine powder) but that works too.

Translate ยป