Harcha ( ar, حرشة, ḥarša) is a griddle- or pan-cooked semolina

flatbread A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread. Flatbreads ran ...

native to the Middle Atlas in Morocco, and also found in Algeria.

Preparation

The cakes are made from a dough of semolina, butter, and milk or water, and leavened with baking powder. The dough may also contain some

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

. The dough is formed into rounds and then cooked on a hot griddle or flat pan. The use of semolina gives harcha a crumbly texture comparable to

cornbread Cornbread is a quick bread made with cornmeal, associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States, with origins in Native American cuisine. It is an example of batter bread. Dumplings and pancakes made with finely ground cornmeal are st ...

. In Rif, Morocco, buttermilk or yogurt, thinned with water, can be used instead of milk. Harcha can be made into small breads, or large ones the size of a truck tire.

Serving culture

Harcha is commonly smeared with honey and butter, and served with mint tea during breakfast or as a snack. It is also one of the breads consumed during

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

. It can also be served like a sandwich, stuffed with cheese or with meat confit. Finally, it can be crumbled and used as a tender bed for

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and ...

Variants

Terminology for the bread may vary across Morocco and Algeria.

Agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

specialist Mike Sissons for example mentions the term "mbesses" as a variant of harcha. Mbesses however may instead refer to a sweet cake found in Algeria, also called

Khobz Mbesses Khobz Mbesses (Arabic: خبز مبسّس ) is an Algerian cake usually made with semolina or farina. See also * List of cakes The following is a list of types of dessert cakes by country of origin and distinctive ingredients. The majority of ...

which has similar but not identical ingredients. In the late 19th century, Algerian bakers who migrated to

Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

, Morocco, introduced a type of bread called El Khobz El Harcha, which was made by sprinkling semolina on the bread before putting it in the oven. This is clearly different from and should not be confused with Harcha, which is entirely made from semolina flour and other ingredients such as milk. In the rural hinterland of

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, it is commonly called ''harchâya'', and the term ''ragda'' is used elsewhere in Algeria.

References

{{Cuisine of Morocco Algerian cuisine Moroccan cuisine Pancakes