Algerian cuisine is very rich part of the production of land and sea. Algerian cuisine offers a component of food and dishes varied by region and by season. This cuisine uses a lot of local, seasonal products, that has always been in abundance in the country.
The climate of North Africa, esp Algeria is unique, and eminently adapted to the comfort of those who, whether from necessity or choice. In addition to the climate, the cuisine of Algeria emerged from the picturesque aspect of Algerian life, of the white cities of the coastline of Alger and Oran with their narrow streets and also are the historical souvenirs of these lands that from time to time have been subject to the kings and conquerors.
The roots to North African cuisine can be traced back over 2000 years, back to the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Empire covering a span of over three thousand years over the lands of North Africa. And from the influencal roots of the Berbers, or Kabyles people, who are the result of a fusion between the aborigines of Algeria and the immigrants of Canaanitish origin. And over several centuries traders, travelers, invaders, migrants and immigrants all have influenced the cuisine of North Africa. From the Kings of Numidia, to the Roman Emperors, then later to Arab, Spanish, and Turkish conquerors, afford the learned and enquiring traveller an opportunity to study past civilisations, while the ordinary tourist will experience the enjoyment of a picturesque and beautiful country. And these influences can be seen in the cuisine of Algeria.
The roots to North African cuisine can be traced back over 2000 years, back to the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Empire covering a span of over three thousand years over the lands of North Africa. And from the influencal roots of the Berbers, or Kabyles people, who are the result of a fusion between the aborigines of Algeria and the immigrants of Canaanitish origin. And over several centuries traders, travelers, invaders, migrants and immigrants all have influenced the cuisine of North Africa. From the Kings of Numidia, to the Roman Emperors, then later to Arab, Spanish, and Turkish conquerors, afford the learned and enquiring traveller an opportunity to study past civilisations, while the ordinary tourist will experience the enjoyment of a picturesque and beautiful country. And these influences can be seen in the cuisine of Algeria.
The orgin of the Algeria cuisine is primarily a mixture of Berber, Turkish and Arab culinary traditions, with some European influences. While the cuisine of Egypt and Libya is still heavily influenced by the Ottoman empire and its Turkish culture, sharing characteristics and similar dishes with much of Turkish and Peninsular Arab cuisine. The cuisines of Algeria and Tunisia are less thoroughly influenced by these Eastern elements these days, but derive more influence from French and Italian cuisine respectively. While Moroccan cuisine for the most part remained outside of these relatively recent and contemporary influences, although Moroccan cuisine itself have roots dating back to the heyday of the kingdom of Al-Andalous in modern-day Spain.
The Berbers, adapted into the cuisine of not only Algeria, but of Morocco and Tunisia too, seksu or couscous, to be one of the main staples of their diet. The Phoenicians of the 1st century brought sausages, the Carthaginians introduced wheat and its byproduct, semolina. Olives and olive oils were introduced before the arrival of the Romans. From the 7th century onwards, the Arabs introduced a variety of spices, like saffron, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves, which contributed and influenced the culinary culture of North Africa. The Ottoman Turks brought sweet pastries and other bakery products, and from the New World, North Africa got potatoes, tomatoes, courgettes (zucchini) and chili peppers.
Algerian food is characterized by the interplay of European and Arab influences, as I have mentioned above. The barrāniyya, Couscous (click), and Mechoui (click) are inherited from the Arabs. Chackouchka (click) inherited from the Turks, whereas the soups, mixed salads, and some desserts are European influenced.
There is not a dish or kitchen in Algeria where women are not present. The Algerian cuisine is an art of family affair. As in all Mediterranean countries, is a kitchen of mothers whose cooking are often jealously guarded.
In every way exquisite cuisine of Algeria enjoys the refinements of the Berber kitchen and a multitude of foreign influences as I have mentioned above. Berber cooking takes its origins with the nomadic use of vegetables and grilled meat, with the presence of farmed grains, while the foreign influences are evident in the aristocratic shaping delicate stuffed pastries and desserts.
Rich, varied, colourful, Algerian cuisine relies heavily on: vegetables including eggplant and courgette (zucchini), fruit, cereals: rice and wheat, and olive oil that are staples of the land and sea: mutton, fish, seafood, lamb, dates, almonds, olives, various vegetables and fruit Vegetables are cooked with meat to get a full meal or just with olive oil for simple filling yet ecomonical fare. And because the region is predominantly Muslim, only halal meats are usually eaten. Most dishes are mildly spiced with paprika, cumin, ginger, cinnamon and saffron. Fresh peppermint, parsley, or coriander are also very common. Spice mixtures such as Ras el hanout (click), Baharat, and Harissa (click) are frequently used.
The culinary complexity of Algeria is like that of Italy, but because of its remoteness for many Westerners, not to mention the terroristic civil war that erupted in the early 1990s and targeted foreigners, very little is known about Algerian cuisine. There are fascinating preparations that I have only heard about--for example, the Algerian dish of cumin- and saffron-rubbed whole lamb shoulder wrapped in cheesecloth and placed in the upper portion of a couscoussière where it is steamed for a day.
The meal of the Algerian cuisine generally consists of a hot or cold entreé, a hot dish, with bread, which is followed by a vegetable in olive oil. Meals are always finished off with fruit and on special occasions sweet cakes are served with tea. Dishes are meant to enhance the flavor of the ingredient, not hide in sauces and spices. Herbs and spices also are used sparingly and with great originality.
The two great culinary centers of Algeria are Constantine and Tlemcen, which was influenced by Muslim-Andalousi. Other major culinary centers are Algiers, Bejaïa, Sétif, and Oran. In eastern Algeria, one finds hot red chile Dersa sauces and sweets made with honey or dates. In the central part of Algeria, white sauces and breaded or floured fried meats are found along with desserts made with almonds, such as Makrout, lozenge-shaped pieces of semolina and almonds. In the west, velouté sauces that are slightly sweet predominate.
A favorite Algerian spice is cayenne pepper, a New World spice, while other common spices in Algerian cuisine are black pepper, cumin, ginger, fennel, caraway, aniseed, wild parsley, mint, cinnamon, and cloves.
In Algeria, there are a lot of pride in the preparations and eating of couscous. Couscous is usually the main attraction in uch celebrations such as weddings, and births. It is meal eaten communally, persons sharing in the baraka (blessing) of not only the celebration but the bounty of land. This celebratory couscous is known as Couscous marqa b'lham (click) (couscous with sauce and meat) During these celebrations, it is tradition that a hostess will not offer to her guest a dish where the meat is nonexistent, it is inconceivable in the Algerian culinary culture. But in fact, she serves her guests the large morsels and best cuts of meat. And on Friday, the day of rest and worship for Muslims, including Algerians the Friday lunch meal with consist of a meatless couscous called Mesfouf (click). Mesfouf is a small grained cousous that is steamed over broth. It is served savoury or sweet with little bits of vegetables or fruit inside, which is then tossed in butter orthe more rustic the rancid fat called smen. Algerians are also fond of couscous with lebn, buttermilk. A larger couscous grain is known as Berkoukes (click for recipe), what the Tunisians call m'hamsa basically a pasta ball-looking couscous.
The group of dishes known as Chackchouka (click) are vegetables cooked with lots of eggs stirred into them. They derive from a Turkish dish made with bell peppers, onions, and eggs called şakşuka. One will often hear that this is an Israeli dish. It is not. It is fact a Turkish -Algerian, but it’s true that Algerian Jews in Israel brought the dish with them when they immigrated.
The category of dishes known as Barrāniyya is breaded or floured vegetables or meat that are fried with oil and cooked in a sauce. The word barrāniyya comes from the Arabic root word meaning “to surround.” A very common barrāniyya is Tadjine brouklou maqli (click) that is made with cauliflower.
Another group of dishes are cooked in the style of Chtitcha, a word that means “that which dances,” implying that the sauce is so piquant it makes the food jump in your mouth or that it jumps in the skillet, since it is cooked like a fricassée. Chtitcha can be made from a number of ingredients from chicken, to mutton (click for recipe) to seafood (click for recipe).
The two main cooking methods in Algerian cuisine are simmering and braising, although the others, such as boiling and grilling are, of course, used also.
There are 6 main categories of sauce in Algerian cookery. Sauces are not usually made separate from the meal, as they are in French cuisine. Some sauces even use aghda, an emulsifier or binding agent made from egg whites and other ingredients. Like the famous Alger soup Chourba Beïda
First, the white sauce that is called Marqa beida (derdja) or Sauce Blanc (French) The Algerian white sauces are not the same as classic French sauces for they do not contain milk. It is made with a base of butter or oil and seasoned with onion, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, saffron, or turmeric, is used with couscous or meat cooked with vegetables.
The Marqa helou, or sweet sauce, is also made from butter and seasoned with cinnamon, saffron, and honey or sugar and is used for sweet dishes.
The third white sauce, M'hammer, or roasting sauce (although it’s derived from the Arabic word for red), is a butter- or semn-based sauce (clarified butter) seasoned with onion, cinnamon sticks, and saffron and is used for roasting or spit-roasting meats.
And the fourth sauce is called Dersa, red sauce, which has a base of red bell peppers seasoned with black pepper, salt, and cinnamon, which is used for meat, offal, couscous, and vegetables. Dersa is the main flavouring in the dish called Chtitcha, which I mentioned the word means “that which dances,” since it is very piquant.
The fifth sauce Marqa b'tomatich is Algerian-style tomato sauce with a base of tomatoes, onions, and garlic seasoned with black pepper and cumin. And sometimes other spices. It is typically used with fish, meat, and on pasta, rice, fried fish, and French fried potatoes.
The sixth sauce is Chermoula which is also a highly seasoned sauce for fish or meat, but more so, and contains vinegar or lemon juice. And the meat is marinated in the Chermoula before cooking. Chermoula is used for such famous dishes as Kibda Chermoula (liver in chermoula sauce) (click for recipe)
In each of these sauces the cook seasons in accordance with his or her own taste or taste of their region, using a variety of other herbs or spices. Many dishes involve long simmering until the meat and vegetables are very tender and the sauce is rich and reduced.
As far as cheese goes, the people of the Maghreb do not have a large repertoire of cheeses, although they do have some high-quality white cheeses such as a soft Algerian cheese with an artichoke heart in the middle, and also Brie and Cambebert. But Algeria is famous for its use of milk
Algerian seafood cookery is found along the coast. Great seafood regions are Tipaza and Oran. The catch is small, but the little that is caught is excellently prepared, the most common fish being the gilt-head bream, sardines, shrimp, red snapper and grouper.
Here is a list of other Algerian food blog worth taking a look at ...
So I invite you to discover Algeria's culinary treasures!
