Cuisine of Algeria

The cuisine of Algeria is influenced by Algeria's interactions and exchanges with other cultures and nations over the centuries. It is characterized by a wealth derived from both land and sea products. Conquests or demographic movement towards the Algerian territory were two of the main factors of exchanges between the different peoples and cultures ( Berbers, Arabs, Turks, Andalusians, French, and Spaniards). This cuisine is a Mediterranean and North African cuisine with Berber roots.

Algerian cuisine offers a variety of dishes depending on the region and the season, but vegetables and cereals remain at its core. Most of the Algerian dishes are centered around bread, meats (lamb, beef or poultry), olive oil, vegetables, and fresh herbs. Vegetables are often used for salads, soups, tajines, couscous, and sauce-based dishes. Of all the Algerian traditional dishes available, the most famous one is couscous, recognized as a national dish.

Ingredients

Algeria, like other Maghreb countries, produces a large range of Mediterranean fruits and vegetables and even some tropical ones. Lamb is commonly consumed. Mediterranean seafood and fish are also eaten and produced by the little inshore fishing.

Spices used in Algerian cuisine include dried red chilli of different kinds, caraway, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, paprika, coriander, saffron, mace, cloves, fennel, anise, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, fenugreek, and black pepper. Up to twenty-seven spices are combined for the famous Algerian spice mixture ''ras el hanout''.

Meats

Algerians consume a high amount of meat, and it is found in almost every dish.

Poultry and beef are also used—other, more uncommon types of meat such as game, birds and venison are considered a delicacy. In the south, dromedary (camel meat) is also eaten.

Vegetables

Vegetables that are commonly used include potatoes (''batata''/''betetè''), carrots (''zrodiya''/''sennariya''), turnip (''left''), onions (''bsel''/''besla''), tomatoes (''tomatish''/''tømètish''/''t'matem''), zucchini (''corget''/''qar'a'' /''khyar''), garlic (''ethoum''), cabbages (''cromb''), eggplant (''bidenjan''), olives (''zéton''), pennyroyal (''fliou''), cardoon (''korchef''), broad bean (''fool''), chickpea (''homoss''), and chili pepper (''felfel'').

Vegetables are often used in stews (''tagine''/''jwaz''/''djwizza'') and soups (''chorba''/''harira''/''jari'') or simply fried or boiled.

Dishes

A common and one of the most favorite dishes of Algerian cuisine is couscous, with other favorites such as '' rechta'', shakshouka, '' karantita'', ''chakhchoukha'', '' zviti'', tajines, like '' tajine zitoune'', and '' marqa bel a'assel'', a speciality from Tlemcen. A popular Algerian meat is ''merguez'', an originally Berber sausage.

Algeria has four well-known traditional soups consumed throughout the country: '' chorba frik'', ''harira'', ''djari'' and '' tchicha''. These traditional Algerian soups are served at the beginning of the meal as an entree and are mainly prepared from lamb, mutton or chicken, chickpeas, tomatoes, vermicelli, wheat, spices and different vegetables and legumes. These varied soups are the most popular during the holy month of Ramadan.

There are many different types of Algerian salads, including both raw and cooked vegetables, served either hot or cold. Hot salads include '' zaalouka'', an aubergine and tomato chakchouka, and ''egg'' '' chakchouka'', a mixture of tomatoes, smoked green peppers, garlic, eggs and spices. Influenced by both the Algerian and Mediterranean cuisines, ''chakchouka'' may include beetroot or anchovies. There are also dishes of Spanish origin in Algeria, like the ''gaspacho oranais'', an Algerian version of a Manchego dish.

Algerians commonly use ''tajines'', an earthenware pot, to cook. Algerian chefs take much pride in cooking skills and methods and their many secrets lie in the variety of ways they mix special spices.

Additional dishes

* '' Bourek''—fried spring rolls with various stuffing, including meat, tuna, potato, and cheese.
* ''Mhadjeb''—flat bread stuffed with onions and tomato sauce.
* ''Shakshouka'', ''chakshoka'', ''shakhshosha''—a mixture of onions, tomato, bell peppers, zucchini and eggs. There many versions, depending on the region.
* '' Chorba frik'' or ''jari''—a tomato-base soup with lamb
* ''Frites-omelette''—French fries with eggs
* ''Dobara''—Chickpea soup
* '' Dolma''—stuffed vegetables cooked in a stock
* '' Tagine'' or ''Jwaz''—a stew consisting of vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions, or tomatoes) and meat, sometimes navy beans, kidney beans are included; Tajine zitoun (olive tajine) and tajine mtewem are two of Algeria's most popular salty tajines.
* '' Tajine hlew''—a sweet saucy dish that has meat with dried apricots and prunes.
* ''Lobia''—''fasolada'', eaten in the winter, a thick stew of beans and chunks of carrots and potatoes, there are many versions of this with lentils, kidney beans and other legumes
* '' Chtit'ha''—consists of poultry, onions and eggs in a red stock of tomatoes, usually served at weddings. The recipe varies depending on the region.
* ''Hmiss'' —roasted salad, with bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic and olive oil

Desserts and drinks

Seasonal fruits are typically served as a dessert at the end of meals.

Common pastries include ''dziriyat'', ''garn ghzal'', ''baqlawa'', ''bradj'', '' makroudh'', '' kalb elouz,'' ''zlabiya'', and griwech. ''Griwech'' is a deep-fried pretzel-shaped dough, soaked in honey and sprinkled with sesame seeds, commonly eaten during the month of Ramadan. Many pastries are prepared for special occasions like for '' Eid-al-fitr'' and weddings.

Creponne, a sorbet which originated in Oran, is a specialty in Algeria.KOI VOIR A ORAN
GOUAL
GOUAL Other desserts and cakes such as sfenj and kroki mchawcha are also commonly eaten.

Green tea with mint is generally drunk in the afternoon and during ceremonies with pastries. Algerians are heavy coffee consumers; thick espresso and black coffee are very popular, Algerian breakfast consists of a latte coffee with croissants or bread with butter or any Algerian sweets like Algerian baklawa, msemen or baghrir topped with honey or jam. Fruit juice and soft drinks, called ''gazouz'', are common and often drunk daily, the most famous Algerian soda is Hamoud Boualem, an Algerian soft drink manufacturer that makes drinks popular in Algeria and exports them abroad, primarily for consumption by Algerian emigrants. It is one of the country's oldest companies, having been founded in 1878. Their products include sodas like "Selecto," "Hamoud," and "Slim", each in multiple flavors, as well as syrups in different flavors.

Mazagran which is said to be the “original iced coffee” originated in Algeria, it is a cold sweetened coffee drink.

Algeria previously produced a large quantity of Algerian wine during the French colonization but production has decreased since its independence; Alcohol consumption is frowned upon in Algeria but is not legally prohibited, which does not prevent the winegrower from producing a wide variety of wines mainly from the slopes of Mascara, Médéa and Tlemcen.

Bread

Between 1976 and 1984, the average Algerian family spent around 56% of their income on food and drink, and more than 10% of that number was spent on bread and other cereal products. Bread is thought to contain God's blessing, ''baraka''. It is traditionally seen as a symbol of life and functions in rituals symbolic of life, fertility and abundance.Jansen, Willy. “French Bread and Algerian Wine: Conflicting Identities in French Algeria.” In Food, Drink and Identity: Cooking, Eating and Drinking in Europe Since the Middle Ages, edited by Peter Scholliers, 195-218. Oxford: Berg, 2001

Classes of breads

''Khubz as-dâr''—wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. Traditionally flat and round, a few centimeters thick, made at home and commonly baked in a gas oven or communal oven.

''Khubz at-tajîn or matlû''—wheat semolina, yeast, water and salt. Flattened pan-bread (French: ''galette''), baked in a previously heated earthenware or cast-iron plate on a fire. Variations are made by the quality of the leavening agent, by adding barley or sorghum, bran, or by making it corn-based.

''Khubz-ftir'', ''raqâq'', ''rfîs'' or ''tarîd''—well-kneaded, unleavened dough, baked for half a minute on a convex sheet of brass or iron, balanced on stones over a fire. This is a preferred method for those living nomadic lives due to easy transportation of pan and little amount of fuel necessary.

French ''baguettes''—white, leavened wheat flour. Bought at bakery or street vendor, but never made at home due to access to mills powered by electricity. Power shortages prevent consumption of this bread, and often Algerians turn to home-made breads that are milled by women's hands.

Algerian bread

French bread tends to be given more value in terms of taste and quality in that it was commonly associated to being more suitable to higher standards. However, the white inner parts of a baguette are thought to be unhealthy and will regularly be thrown away, and the bread is frequently associated with constipation.

Algerian breads, on the other hand, are considered more nutritive, rich and tasteful and seldom go to waste. Because French breads harden over night or become chewy when put away in plastic bags, it is hard to find usage for them, so they are thrown away with more frequency than Algerian breads that can be reheated or reutilized as edible food utensils or even bird feed.

In the context of rituals, only Algerian bread is thought suitable. Breads offered to guests should be homemade, as it signifies the essence, intimacy, and qualities of the family. In daily practices, it is also a sign of wealth and affluence if one has extra bread at the table, and making bread at home can be considered a sign of familial economic independence.

Commonly eaten breads in Algeria consist of Kesra, Matlouh, Mtabga and Mouna.

Gallery

File:Kalb-el-louz.jpg, Kalb el Louz, a popular Algerian dessert
File:Makrout dgig ,mekrout a base de farine.jpg, Algerian Makroud
File:Algerian_couscous_from_Kabylia.jpg, Algerian couscous from Kabylia
File:Chakhchoukha.jpg, Algerian Chakhchoukha from the city of Biskra
File:Tajinezitounepoulet.jpg, Traditional Algerian olive tagine with chicken and mushrooms
File:Crepone.jpg, Creponne, a specialty in Algeria
File:Kesra 2.jpg, Algerian home made Bread
File:Sfenj sprinkled with sugar and served on a plate.jpg, Algerian Sfenj
File:Kesra Rekhsis.jpg, Kesra
File:Mouna (brioche).jpg, Mouna, sweet bread of Algerian origin
File:Traditional Algerian food.jpg, Algerian Rogag

See also

* Arab cuisine
* Berber cuisine
* Mediterranean cuisine
* North African cuisine
* List of African cuisines

References

External links

Algerian Recipes and Culture on Global Table Adventure

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Arab cuisine
Algerian culture
North African cuisine
Mediterranean cuisine
Maghrebi cuisine