Culinary Tour of the World: Episode 3: Algeria - Mhadjeb or Mahdjouba

Welcome to our third episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. This time we are headed to Algeria. Algeria is in Northern Africa. As I started researching Algerian food, I read that the cuisine is influenced by all the exchanges with different cultures and people over centuries.  There is a heavy French influence (it was a French colony) and a common breakfast I observed was croissant and coffee.  I saw a lot of delicious recipes including pastries. I have noted down quite a few recipes I would eventually like to try out.  As I started reading more about the food and googling the traditional names, I came across several blogs and video which were mostly in French and some in what I think was Arabic. It was difficult to choose a recipe because there were so many choices! 

Couscous and a stew  would have been perfect but I thought I could make that any day and wanted to choose something new which I had not heard of.  I almost chose a pizza recipe which is said to be over a 100 years old. I finally decided to go with a street food called Mhadjeb (singluar) or Mahdjouba (plural). In my experience, street food is usually something everyone enjoys and is very special to a place, so I thought it would be a good choice. 

Mhadjeb can be best described as a flavorful savory pastry of layered semolina dough, with each layer as thin as a phyllo sheet, which is filled with a sweet and tart filling of caramelized onions and tomatoes.  The recipe made me curious. I wondered how a simple filling of just onions and tomatoes would taste. Based on the description of the pastry cover, I deduced that it would be crispy and the covering would be delicious for sure.

I had some challenges with this recipe, as the recipes I found which seemed authentic were in French and Arabic. I was able to finally leverage the French I had studied in high school and with the help of google translate make enough sense of the recipes.  The final result was delicious! I read that if this pastry is made without filling it is called Msemmen and is a delicious accompaniment with tea or coffee. So, one recipe with two uses. I am definitely going to make it again. 

Our next country will be Andorra. This has been a particularly difficult one to find vegetarian recipes for, so if you have suggestions, please add that in the comments below. 

You can find the link to all our previous episodes here and the Culinary Tour playlist will take you to all the videos. 

Here is the video link to the Mhadjeb/Mahdjoba recipe. 

Ingredients

For the cover

1.5 cups fine semolina or semolina flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2- 3/4 cup water (enough to knead a very soft dough)

oil

For the filling

2.5 tbsp oil

2 large or 1/2 kilo onions, finely sliced

2 large or 1/2 kilo tomatoes, pulp (see method)

1 tsp of garlic, finely minced

salt to taste

pepper to taste

Method

For the cover

Mix together the semolina, all purpose flour and salt and then add the water to make a soft dough. This dough needs to be kneaded really well. So if you have a stand mixer or food processor, knead it in the machine for about 15 mins. Else, if kneading by hand, after mixing it set it aside to autolyse for 15-20 mins and then knead by hand for 15 mins like you will knead bread. The resultant dough will be soft and sticky.  Spread a little oil in a plate to coat the surface. Then divide the dough into 6-7 pieces and then roll each one into a smooth ball of dough. Place this on the oiled surface. Cover the plate with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for a minimum of 30 mins to about a couple of hours. The dough (and gluten) should be really relaxed to be able to pat the dough out into a very thin sheet. 

For the filling

Grate the tomatoes to separate the pulp from the peel. Discard the tomato peel. If you wish you can deseed the tomatoes before grating. In a big pan, add the oil and the onions and garlic and cook this on medium heat till the onions are caramelized. They will start turning brown. At this stage, add the tomatoes. Then cook the mixture till it has reduced and is dry enough to form the filling. Add the salt and pepper.  You can also add 1 tbsp of tomato paste along with the tomatoes. Let this cool down.

Putting it together

Apply oil over the surface which you will use to flatten out the dough. I prefer to use a baking sheet/pan so that I don't get my countertop oily.  Then place a piece of dough on the center and using the palm, flatten the dough. Use your palms and finger tips to stretch the dough. Then stretch each end of the dough to cover more of the pan. Do this till the entire pan is covered. One ball of dough (of 7) can be stretched thin enough to fill a 12 X 18 inches pan. Then place a ladle full of filling in the center and spread it into a rectangle. Fold the pastry around this filling. Place the bottom third of the dough over the center to cover the filling. Then overlap it with the top third. Then fold the right and left dough flaps over the center to create a rectangular pastry packet. (See the video for a visual demonstration).

Heat a pan or griddle till it is hot and then turn the heat to a low-medium setting. Since there are several layers, we need all of them to be cooked. So cook it on both sides on a low-medium heat till both sides are well browned.

Serve is hot with a side of harissa sauce or ketchup.  For the harissa sauce, I blended one roasted, peeled red bell pepper, with store bought harissa spice mix and a some oil. 

Tips

Apply oil to your palms and fingertips while handling the dough, so it does not stick to your fingers. To remove the tomato peel easily, you can also submerge the tomatoes in boiling water for a minute, till the peel starts to separate. Then take it out into a bowl of ice cold water. Then you can easily peel the tomatoes and puree the pulp. 

Culinary Tour of the World: Episode 2: Albania - Pitalka, Jani Me Fasule, Feregese Tirane

Welcome to our second episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. The second country, in an alphabetical order is Albania. It is in Europe next to Greece and along the Mediterranean Sea. While I was researching the food of Albania, I came across so many recipes that it was really difficult to pick one.  So with this episode, I am presenting three great Albanian recipes. 

I decided that I would choose recipes that could together make a meal and then I wouldn't have to cook anything else. I love baking bread, so I picked Pitalka. I decided a stew or soup would be a great accompaniment and then a vegetable side. I chose "Feregese Tirane" as a vegetable side. Initially, I thought that Feregese Tirane would make a good meal with the Pitalka. But every recipe that I saw, stated that without adding liver or meat to it, it wouldn't be more than a side.  So, I decided to keep it as a side, which was a good decision. The soup I chose was a white bean soup - "Jani Me Fasule" which was filling and went well with the Pitalka and Feregese Tirane. 

Together, these 3 made a delicious and complete meal! We loved it. I even used the Pitalka bread the next day to make some pita sandwiches with falafel and hummus.  I relied heavily on Google Translate for these recipes. As I started searching with the Albanian names, I came across blogs and videos in Albanian which I couldn't understand and so I used Google Translate extensively for translating the recipes, instructions as well for the pronunciations of the dishes. 

As you will see in the video, these are fairly straightforward dishes to make. They are not overwhelmed with spices and the ingredients really shine.  I made an honest effort to follow Google Translate's pronunciations, and realize that I may not have pronounced the names correctly. I hope you try these out and enjoy them as much as I did. 

Our next country will be Algeria and do let me know if you have recommendations for Algerian vegetarian recipes.  And if you missed our first episode, here is the link to it Episode 1: Afghanistan - Ashak. You can find the link to video recipes here. And for a listing of our episodes, visit Culinary World Tour Episodes.

Here is the link to the video demonstrating the detailed method.

Ingredients

For the Pitalka

4 cups of all purpose flour

1 tsp sugar

1.5 tsp  yeast

1.5 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

3/4 - 1 cup water

For the Jane Me Fasule

1 cup of dry white/cannellini beans

water to soak the beans and cook the beans

1 cup diced onions

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 cup diced bell peppers (mixture of green and orange)

2 tbsp oil

salt to taste

1/4 tsp black pepper

pinch of red chilli flakes

For the Feregese Tirane

1 tbsp oil

2.5 cups roasted, diced bell peppers (mixture of red, yellow and green)

1 cup diced onions

1 cup diced tomatoes

2 tbsp basil

salt to taste

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 cups milk

1 tsp vinegar diluted with 1 tbsp water

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/4 cup yogurt

1/2 cup cottage cheese (made using the milk and vinegar. If using store bought cottage cheese, milk and vinegar are not needed)

Method

For the Pitalka

Add the yeast and sugar to the milk and set it aside for 10 mins. The yeast will start getting frothy indicating that it is active and is fresh. Add salt to the flour and mix. Then add the milk and yeast mixture to the flour. Add a little water at a time and knead the dough till you get a firm but smooth dough. It can take about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of water. If you are kneading it in a mixer, knead it for 5-7 mins till smooth. If by hand, it will take about 15-20 mins. Then place it in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1 hour or till it has doubled. 

Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 475F.  If you don't have a pizza stone, that is ok. 

Then deflate the dough and cut it into 6 equal parts. Shape each dough piece into a ball. Place this on a floured surface or a parchment paper, such that you can easily shape it into a disc and then place it in the oven. Let the dough ball rest got 10-15 mins. Then, using your finger tips, spread the dough out into a thin disc, about 1/4th inch in thickness. Then, let this dough disc rest for 20 mins. Cover the dough ball and disc with a towel or plastic wrap to ensure that the dough does not dry out. Then place this disc into the oven. If baking on the pizza stone, place it with the parchment or directly onto the stone. If you are not using a pizza stone, place it on a baking sheet and then place the baking sheet into the oven. It will take about 8-12 mins for the bread to become golden brown in color and it will puff up as well. The bread is ready when golden brown.

For the Jani Me Fasule

Rinse and soak the white beans/cannellini in water for 3-4 hours. Then, discard the water and add the beans and salt to a pressure cooker. Add water to cover the beans and there should be half an inch water over the beans surface. Pressure cook the beans for 30 mins. Then, add the diced onions, tomatoes and bell peppers to the cooked beans, along with the oil, black pepper and chilli flakes. Cook under pressure again for 10 mins. Once the pressure is released, check the consistency of the soup and let it boil to thicken if it is watery. Serve hot. Pour a little olive oil on top of each bowl before serving. 

For the Feregese Tirane

Roast the bell peppers on the stovetop or in the oven till the skin starts to char. Then deseed and dice the bell peppers. To make the cottage cheese, heat the milk and then add the vinegar and water mixture to it. That will separate the milk into the cottage cheese and whey water. Drain the cottage cheese and add salt to it. 

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, and add the onions. Cook till they start to soften and then add the tomatoes and bell peppers. Cook this mixture till the liquid from the vegetables has almost evaporated. Then, add the basil, and black pepper. Stir well. 

To make the roux, heat the butter and then add the flour to it. Cook for a minute till the flour doesn't smell raw anymore. Do not brown it. Then, add the cottage cheese and yogurt to it. Mix well. Mix this into the vegetable mixture. Then ladle out individual portions into casserole dishes, or into a large baking dish. If you like, top with some cottage cheese and then bake in the oven at 350F for 20 mins. The casserole is ready to eat.  

Tips

If you are roasting bell peppers in the oven, cook them at 400 F till the skin starts to char. 

Culinary Tour of the World: Episode 1: Afghanistan - Ashak

It has been a strange year thus far and it looks like we are in it for the long haul. One day is very much starting to blend into another.  Tired of the same routine, I was thinking that I need a project. Something to look forward to or bring excitement. Usually, it is a special occasion or a party or a trip that we are looking forward to, but this year all those are very muted and parties and travel are out of the question. So, as I was pondering this state of being, and thinking of possible ways of safe travel, I had a wonderful idea. 

 I thought instead of stressing about how we could go away for the weekend and all the logistics associated with safe travel in the current situation, why don't I explore the world! Meld my passion for cooking with recipes from all over the world and I could do a culinary tour of the world! This project would have many benefits; we would learn something about the culinary traditions of each country, be able to identify them on the map and possibly learn something about the culture and the country as I researched the food. And the best result would be that we would cook and taste many dishes which we would never otherwise get to eat in our lifetime. 

I didn't even know how many countries make the world, so that was my starting point. Now, given the very vast world to explore, I decided that to make it easy I had to choose a method. After some thought I decided I would go in an alphabetical order, starting with A and working my way through till Z. Second, I will look for vegetarian recipes, with minimal ingredient substitution. And third, wherever possible I will use produce from the garden. I plan to do video recording of the cooking process, so that I can remember and recreate the recipes that we love and be able to share with you all the process of cooking a dish when you know absolutely nothing about it!!

I am so excited to get started on this project. I have created a separate page on the blog menu to find all the recipes for this project and I will upload videos on my YouTube channel - "Gardening and Cooking Made Easy". 

So to kick us off, I have selected Ashak (Aushak) from Afghanistan. I looked up the Afghani cuisine on the internet and some of the recipes that were called out were Bolani, Ashak, varieties of Palaw etc. I had also let my friends know about this project and requested that they provide suggestions for countries that begin with the alphabet "A" and surprisingly many of my friends provided a lot of Afghani food suggestions. I had never eaten or seen Afghani food, so I looked up many recipes on blog sites and youtube. Finally, I decided on making Ashak because it was described as a dish made on special occasions, it could be made vegetarian, was recommended by a friend who had eaten the authentic version as well as I was growing chives and scallions in the yard.  

I must say that it was an excellent choice to begin with. Ashak is a chive filled dumpling served on a bed of yogurt sauce along with meat or lentil sauce. Through the various recipes that I read through and viewed, the filling should be of chives, but scallion greens and leeks are acceptable, split peas can be used for the vegetarian version of the recipe and if you want a shortcut, you can use store bought wonton wrappers for the dumpling covers. I, of course, opted to make the entire recipe from scratch including the dumpling dough and the end result was fabulous. I will definitely add this to my cooking repertoire as well as make the three separate components of the dish as separate recipes too. The lentil sauce will taste great with rice, roti or bread. The yogurt sauce makes a delicious dip and the dumplings will taste fantastic even in a pasta sauce. So without further ado, here is the recipe.

Here is the link to the video demonstrating the detailed method.

Ingredients

For the dumpling cover

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsp oil

1 egg

1 tsp salt

water to knead a firm dough

For the filling

1.5 cups of finely chopped chives and scallion greens (leafy green part only)

salt to taste

1/8 tsp chilli flakes

1/8 tsp black pepper powder

2 tsp oil

water to cook the dumplings

For the lentil sauce

1 tbsp oil

1/2 cup split pea (chana dal)

1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup tomato puree

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp chilli powder

salt to taste

water, enough to have a sauce which flows easily but is thick to coat the dumplings

For the yogurt sauce

1 cup yogurt

1/4 tsp grated/finely minced garlic

salt to taste

mint powder, for garnish

Method

Rinse and soak the split peas/chana dal for 30 mins or so, till softened.

To make the dumpling covering

Mix together the all purpose flour, oil, salt, egg and adding a little water at a time, knead the mixture to form a firm, smooth dough. Keep it aside for 30 minutes so that the gluten can relax and it can be rolled out easily.

To make the dumpling stuffing

In a mixing bowl, add the chopped chives and scallion greens, add the oil, salt, chilli flakes and black pepper powder and mix well. Keep it aside.

To make the lentil sauce

Heat the oil and add onions to it. Fry this for a minute or two and then add the garlic. Fry this mixture till the onions start becoming translucent and then add the spices - turmeric, cumin seeds, coriander powder and chilli powder. Cook the spices for a minute or two and then add the tomato puree. Cook this till the raw tomato smell disappears and then add the soaked split peas. Stir well, add salt and water and then cook this till the chana dal is cooked through. You may need to add more water if you are cooking it in a saucepan. The dal should not be so mushy that it will lose its shape. I cooked it in the pressure cooker, for 2 whistles. After that, I adjusted the consistency of the sauce by adding water and boiling it. If you cook it in an instant pot, it will take about 8-10 mins at high pressure. 

To make the yogurt sauce

Add the garlic and salt to the yogurt and mix well. 

To mold and cook the dumplings

Roll out the dough into a thin sheet which is about 2-3 mm thick and starts to look slightly translucent. Then using a round cutter, cut it into circles. Place 1/2-1 tsp of filling in the center of this dough circle. Adjust the filling quantity depending on the size of the dough circle. Then fold the dough into a half, to form a semi cirlcle/half moon shape. Pinch the dough all along the edges, making sure that it is sealed well. Place this in a plate which is dusted with flour, so that the dumplings don't stick to the plate. Cover with a towel, so they don't dry as you form all the other dumplings. 

Once all the dumplings are ready, boil water in a large saucepan. Once the water is at a rolling boil, keep the heat at medium high and add the dumplings into the water, one at a time. They will sink. Stir them gently with a slotted spoon, flipping them over. It will take a few minutes and then the dumplings will float to the surface. They are cooked through when they float and start looking translucent. Remove these from the water using a slotted spoon and place in a colander, so that excess water will drain off.

To serve

On a serving plate, spread a layer of the yogurt sauce. Then arrange the dumplings on this sauce layer. Spread another layer of the yogurt sauce. Then add a layer of the lentil sauce on top of the yogurt sauce. Finally, sprinkle some mint powder. Serve. Eat each dumpling with some of the yogurt and lentil sauce. The combination is a burst of flavors in every bite. Absolutely delicious!!

Tips

Chives and scallion greens, both have a  mild onion flavor. So, if you don't have access to chives use the onion greens (scallion greens). Drain the leafy greens well after you wash them, so that the stuffing does not have a lot of water. If the stuffing is watery, it will make the dumpling mushy and difficult to handle.  I had about 1/3rd of the dough remaining after forming all the dumplings. So you can double the amount of stuffing, keeping the dough ingredient quantities the same. If you are cooking the dal in a saucepan, cover it to quicken the cooking and stir frequently, adding water as needed.  You can use a little water to seal the edges of the dumplings, if the rolled circle is dry or if you are using store bought wonton wrappers.