Mssemen 3 waysمسمن 3 طرق تحضير

Mssemen is basically a plain Mahjouba. Most Algerian cooks will always save some of the dough to make these little delicacies. The Mahjouba will make a lunch and the Mssemen will be kept in the fridge, carefully protected in a plastic bag.
They will later on be reheated on a frying pan or in the oven to be enjoyed with tea or coffee later in the afternoon or the following mornings. If they have no filling you can spread them with your favourite jam or drizzle them with honey.

My mum used to save a little packet for me and later on for my sisters when we were studying at the university especially in the winter. ‘That will keep you warm for the morning’ she would say. May God bless you ya Yemma.

My Mssemen comes in three forms

·        Plain

·        Stuffed with a sprinkling of brown sugar

·        Stuffed with a sprinkling of brown sugar and nuts (pistachios)

Ingredients:
Filling:

Brown sugar
Pistachios or any other nuts (coarsely )

Dough:

750 g fine semolina
2 tbsp salt
Water (about 800ml)
Vegetable oil (about 1 mug)

Steps:

1.     Mix semolina and salt. Slowly add water until you get a ball of dough.

2.     Keep sprinkling more water (gradually) and work the dough vigorously until it becomes soft but not sticky.

3.     Oil your fingers; divide the dough into small balls about the size of an egg. Put them on an oiled tray, cover and let it stand for 30 minutes

4.     Spread dough on an oiled surface, by flattening and stretching it to form a very thin sheet.

5.     Spread a tbsp of stuffing in the middle of the sheet (skip this step if you want it completely plain).

6.     Fold two sides of the sheet, then the other two to form a square.

7.     Drizzle with oil and bake on a lightly oiled griddle or a good quality frying pan

Mahjouba or Mahajeb a la Biskria محجوبة أو محاجب بنكهة بسكرية

I love making Mahjouba even dough it is a time consuming task. I love kneading and stretching the dough, I like the smell in the kitchen; I like all the waiting and the excitement from the members of my family. My eldest son used to call it Mahbouba by mispronunciation (he was three) by we never corrected him as he was still right: Mahbouba means the loved one in Arabic.

Some people will be surprised by the addition of carrots in the filling. This the way it is done in Biskra ‘the capital of Mahjouba’ in Algeria and the hometown of my husband.
In Biskra, women developed an amazing skill of handling the dough and stretching it on their arms and they prepare Mahjouba not in square folded form but in thin stuffed discs.

I have been practicing this skill with my mother in law for few years now and I am nearly there inch Allah (God willing). I will take pictures or a video next time I do it this way in Algeria as I need a bigger griddle which is not available in the UK.

Linguistic note: Mahjouba means the covered one… Got it!!!




Ingredients:
Filling:

6 onions (finely chopped: I use the food processor)
2 grated carrots
1 tablespoon concentrated tomato puree
½ tin chopped tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
A handful of chopped coriander
Salt & pepper
1 hot pepper (optional)

Dough:

750 g fine semolina
2 tbsp salt
Water (about 800ml)

Steps:

1.     Fry the onions and carrots in a little olive oil until softened (covered in a heavy bottomed pot).

2.     Add the tomatoes (both types), salt and pepper and cook covered, for approximately another 15 minutes. The mixture should have reduced (no more liquids) and improved in flavours.

3.     Add chopped coriander and Set aside to cool.

1.     Mix semolina and salt. Slowly add water until you get a ball of dough.

2.     Keep sprinkling more water (gradually) and work the dough vigorously until it becomes soft but not sticky.

3.     Oil your fingers; divide the dough into small balls about the size of an egg. Put them on an oiled tray, cover and let it stand for 30 minutes

4.     Spread dough on an oiled surface, by flattening and stretching it to form a very thin sheet.

5.     Spread a tbsp of stuffing in the middle of the sheet.

6.     Fold two sides of the sheet, then the other two to form a square.

7.     Drizzle with oil and bake on a lightly oiled griddle or a good quality frying pan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet potatoes and feta cheese salad

The first time I made this salad was, it was the first course of a meal from Jamie Olivers ‘30 minutes meals’ book. I steamed the vegetables instead of using the microwave because I doubled the quantities and also because I Do not like the texture of microwave cooked potatoes. Since that day, this salad makes some wonderful light lunches or dinners for me and my husband. I am still waiting for my boys to adopt it!!!!

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato
2 medium potatoes
1 cup feta cheese (crumbled)
1 cup finely chopped coriander
(Optional) juice of ½ lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
(Optional) 1 small chopped mild green chilly


Steps:

1.      Wash and scrub the potatoes. Leave skin on and cut them into big chunks. Steam or boil until cooked

2.      Leave potatoes to cool down, then roughly chop into small pieces (use a chopping board and a big knife)

3.      Mix all the ingredients (preferably using both hands) season with salt and black pepper

4.      Serve cold or at room temperature. (you can save some feta cheese and coriander and a drizzle of olive oil to add on top of salad before serving)

Thrida ثريدة

Ingredients:
6 pieces chicken
3 finely chopped onions
½ tin cooked chickpeas
6 pieces of turnip
3 boiled eggs to decorate
4 cups dried Trida pasta
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Rass el hanout

Steps:
Cooking triad pasta

1.      Add 1 olive oil to the triad pasta and mix thoroughly. Steam for 15 to 20 minutes

2.      Empty the steamed pasta in a big mixing bowl. Slowly add 2 cups of water and mix using a spoon until pasta absorbs the water. At this stage pasta started to soften but not completely cooked.

3.      Steam pasta for the second time until cooked (mix from time to time to make steam reach all the pasta)

4.      When cooked, add another drizzle of olive oil to the pasta and mix.

Preparing the sauce

1.      Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in your cooking pot, add pieces of chicken, onions, salt and other spices and cook on low heat until onions soft and cooked.

2.      Add 1 ½ litre of hot water and cook until chicken nearly cooked (20 minutes).

3.      Add cooked chickpeas and the parsnip chunks and cook again until parsnip is cooked but still holding itself.

Assembling the two

1.      lift the chicken, the parsnip and most of the chickpeas from the sauce and keep them warm

2.      Over very low heat, add the cooked pasta to the sauce (the sauce should be no more than 1 cm higher than the pasta). Stir carefully and cook for another few minutes than switch off the heat, cover and let the pasta absorb the sauce.

3.      serve the pasta in a big dish and top up with the chicken, parsnip and chick peas and decorate with boiled eggs as in the picture.



Tajine of chicken and Spring vegetables

 

Bassboussa with a Turkish twist (Semolina cake with pistachios and oranges)

This is a twist on my standard Bassboussa recipe which uses oranges and pistachios instead of lemons and coconut. It was inspired by a Turkish semolina pudding.

Ingredients: makes 40 pieces

4 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup plain yoghurt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup finely chopped pistachios
2 cups fine semolina
1 tbsp baking powder
Zest of 1 orange

Syrup:

1 1/2 mugs caster sugar
1 mug freshly squeezed orange juice
1 mugs water
1 lemon

Steps:

1. In a pan dissolve the sugar in the water and orange juice to make the syrup. Boil on medium heat for 8mn. Then add rind of the orange.

2.      Mix eggs, sugar, yoghurt, oil, orange zest and pistachios. Whisk the mixture for 1mn, and then add semolina and baking powder. Leave to rest for 15mn.

3.      Empty mixture into a rectangular deep baking tray and bake for about 25mn in a preheated oven (180°C) until you get a golden colour.

4.       As soon as you get the cake out of the oven, pour syrup over the cake (discard the lemon rinds) keep pouring gradually until you feel the cake stopped absorbing the syrup. Dust with chopped pistachios.