Roumouch essit / Syrup coated coconut biscuits

I love cookies and know that lots of my faithful readers visit my french blog (click ) in search for new biscuit ideas.

While the traditional Algerian cookies can be quite dunting and time consuming as they require lots of decorations, I always try to make simple and delicious ones and leave the elaborate versions for eids and other special occasions.

I bumped into this recipe while browsing an arabic forum and immediately  felt in love with its funny name that can be translated into : the lady’s lashes , lol, Don’t ask me How and Why, lol

I tried it the next day and thanks God, it turned out to be a hit among my children . the only drawback  is that it doesn’t give you a big amount so  next time, I might   double the ingredients and also reduce  the amount of the baking powder . I find the biscuits were too crackled for my taste.

Otherwise , they  were delicious and soft, the syrup adds another dimension to the cookies by   keeping  them moist and very soft.

Feel free   to try the recipe  at home during eid adha or for the coming pilgrims, if any..

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1tsp baking powder

1/2 cup  dessicated coconut

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

125 g butter at room temperature

SYRUP:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 tbsp lemon juice

GARNISHING: 1 yolk + one drop of vanilla extract

coconut to sprinkle.

Using electric beaters whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla together, add in  butter, coconut, flour and baking powder. beat until all  ingredients are just combined and form a soft dough. refrigerate for 30 to 45 mn.

preheat oven to moderate 180 degrees. line biscuit trays with baking paper. remove the dough from the fridge, roll it into small balls. and slightly  flatten them  with the back of a fork. brush  with the egg yolk and bake for 15 to 20 mn until  lightly golden.   pour 2 tbsp of syrup on each biscuits, sprinkle  with coconut  and leave them to cool.

Don’t try to soak them in syrup instead, otherwise  they’ll  become too sweet.

enjoy with a hot cup of mint tea.

Francais :

J’ai trouve’ cette recette sur un forum arabe et cela m’a  emmidiatement interpele’  d’abord a cause du drole de nom que porte ces biscuits  ( roumouch essit voulant dire, les cils de la dame, lol) et par l’ajout du sirop . je l’ai essaye’ le lendemain et Dieu merci, c’etait une totale reussite, les enfants ont bcq aime’.  le sirop leur donne une texture douce et  tres moelleuse que j’ai beacoup apprecie’. le seul hic c’est que ces ingredients ne donnent pas une tres grande quantite’  de biscuits . je pense donc les doubler  la prochaine fois et aussi reduire la quantite’ de la levure chimique. je  trouve les biscuits sont un trop crackeles a mon  gout.

N’hesitez pas a essayer la recette pour l’aid edha ou a l’arrivee’ des  pelerins

Ingredients :

2 tasses ( americaines ) de farine ( 1 tasse= 125 g/ 250ml)

1 cac de levure chimique

1/2 tasse de noix de noix de coco,

1/2 tasse de sucre ,

2 oeufs, vanille,

125 g de beurre ramolli.
Sirop : 1 tasse de sucre, 1 tasse d’eau, 2 cas de jus de citron.
Garniture :1 jaune d’oeuf + une goutte de vanille pour badigeonner les biscuits. noix de coco
  PROCEDURE:

Travailler les oeufs , le sucre et la vanille, bien battre a l’aide d’un bateur electrique, ajouter le beure ramolli, puis la noix de coco, la farine et la levure. bien amalgamer le tout. mettre la pate au frais pd 30 a 45 mn.
retirer la pate du frigo, faconner des boules, les deposer dans un plat allant au four, prealablement huile’. presser la surface des biscuits  avec le dos de la fourchette , badigeonner de jaune d’oeuf, puis enfournerr pd 15 a 20 mn ou jusqu’a ce que la surface soit doree’ ( four moderemment chaud). des la sortie du four, verser 2 cas de sirop sur chaque biscuit. et laisser refroidir. surtout ne pas les plonger dans le sirop, au risque qu’ils deviennent trop sucres

presenter avec du the’ a la menthe

Khobz eddar ….Algerian semoulina bread for the world bread day 2011

 After a series of articles that dug  into  Algerian cuisine,its roots and influences,  here comes my first blog recipie  about a typical Algerian bread called khoubz eddar or khoubz koucha, aka,  home made bread or oven bread .

Both bread and yeast symbolise bounty and prosperity , so it’s not randomly that I chose a bread recipe to start my blog with, and mark my participation in the  the world bread day event, initiated by zorra  

As I was saying in my former post, khoubz eddar is a ceremony bread in Algeria , usually prepared during Aids, ramadan, and when receiving guests.  the choices for  decoration and flavoring are  endless.

 my mother for example, would always prepare few bird shaped bread for my sibbling and I , in addition to the more traditional round loaves.  My late grand mother’s khobz, tasted more like a brioche than bread, as  she would only use egg whites  and add home-made orange zest or orange blossom water for extra flavouring.

By right, khoubz edar calls only for fine semoulina, but I prefer to mix it with all purpose flour as it’s hard to get a good quality semoulina in my area.

The following are old pictures taken from my french speaking blog……

INGREDIENTS:

600g  good quality fine semoulina

400g all purpose flour

 100ml oil

1 tablespoon sugar

2teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup  milk +extra water

2 tablespoon active yeast

GLAZE: 1 egg

sesamy or nigella seeds to sprinkle

optianal : 1 tablespoon butter for kneading

orange zest, orange blossom water for flavoring.

Together, sift the flour and semoulina, into a large bowl . add in the dry ingredients .put the oil, milk, and eggs in another bowl and beat with a fork until blended . gradually incorportate the liquid mixture into the flours . add extra water as you knead . place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. knead for 10 to 15 mn or until the dough is smooth and slightly sticks to the fingers. at this stage, you might add in some orange zest or 1tablespoon of orange blossom water if desired  ( I usually don’t ) . for best results, you can use your  kitchenaid or bread machine, as  semoulina bread requires more kneading than flour based breads.

cover with a clean towel and leave in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface,  punch down and knead for 5 to 10mn. incorporate 1 to 2  tablespoon soft butter ( optional) Divide into two equal portions .place them into two pre-oiled trays.roll each portion into a smooth circle about 8 to 10 mn thick. glace with a beaten egg and sprinkle with sesamy or nigella seeds. using a sharp knife,  decorate the surface by scoring deep cut into the loaves or forming deep indents in the middle and drawing lines with the back of a fork.  set aside for 30 minutes or until  well risen

preheat the oven to 200 C. bake for 20mn or until golden brown . leave to cool on a wire rack. serve warm with a delicious tajine.

RECETTE EN FRANCAIS :

ingredients:

600 g de semoule,
400 g de farine,
2 tasses a cafe’ d’huile ( 100ml)
1cas de sucre

2 cac de sel

une  tasse de lait tiede + assez d’eau pour ramasser la pate

2 cas de levure de boulanger

Dorure : un oeuf

greins de sesame ou de nigele pour saupoudrer le pain.

Facultatif : une cas de beurre mou

zeste d’orange ou un bouchon de fleur d’oranger pour aromatiser le pain.

Procedure:

Dans une grande jatter, tamiser ensemble les deux farines. ajouter les matieres seches. melanger les matieres liquides ensemble puis les ajouter aux farines. ajouter de l’eau et continuer a petrir pd 10 a 15 mn  jusqu’a l’obtention d’une belle pate homogene qui cole legerement aux doigts. )vous pouvez a ce stade ajoute le zeste d’orange ou la fleur d’oranger pour aromatiser le pain ( je ne le fais generalement pas )  vous pouvez  petrir votre pate dans une kitchen aid ou a la  machine a pain etant donne’ que les pains de  semoule demandent  un petrissage plus long que ceux a base de farine ordinaire.  couvrir la pate et laisser la doubler de volume a l’abris des courrants d’air.

reprendre la pate, la rabattre ,  . vous pouvez aouter a ce stade une ou deux noisettes de beurre mou, tout en continuant a petrir.  la diviser en deux portions egales que vous etalerez en deux galettes de 8 a 10 mm d’epaisseur . dorer a l’oeuf et garnir de greins de sesame ou de nigele . . laisser lever une demie heure puis mettre a cuire dans un four chaud, pendant  20 mn environ ou jusqu’a l’obtention d’une surface bien doree’.

a consommer tiede avec un bon tajine.

Breads of Algeria / Pains d’Algerie

One of the main differences between North African and middle eastern cuisines lies in bread being the sole staple food for the former in contrast to bread and rice for the latter ( except for Lybia whose geography gives it the privilege of being  a cross culture between maghreb and machrek regions )

I was once discussing this matter with an Iranian friend who was  surprised to learn this fact, she Asked me about the  type of  food we offer  our guests during big ceremonies like marriages, and whether we need to bake tons of bread to feed them,  I said that we have other alternatives like couscous , and other local handmade pasta which play the same role as rice in other countries  and invited her to try our Algerian tlitli  ( clic ) that she liked very much.

Wheat is a significant agricultural product in Algeria but the demand for this crop is so high that the government  is compelled  to import more quantities, making the country  among the top ten importers of wheat in the world  , (according to ArabicNews.com)

Like in many other cultures of the world, bread  to Algerians, means more than just food to nourish the body. it has a variety of spiritual and social values that we can detect in the many proverbs and idiomatic expressions that call for the word « khoubz  » or  » kssour » the plural of  » kesra » which litarally means bread in Algerian dialect.

Algerians speak Arabic and a variety of Amazigh/ berber dialects, so bread in Algeria has many synonyms, khobz, kesra, aghroum…..

we say khobz when we speak about bread as a general term, and kesra when we refer to the flat , round, Algerian bread in contrast for example to the french loaf

the Amazigh regions of Algeria, like  Kabylia and Aures use the word Aghroum to refer to bread.

For many years, I was puzzled with the meaning of the word  » kesra » especially after discovering that is also used in Sudan….so thanks to uncle google i came to know  that  » kesra » means « a piece of « ……..something in old arabic , and even found a poem with the phrase » kesratou khobz » meaning a piece of bread.

One of the specificities of Algerian bread is the use of fine semoulina which needs lots of kneading compared to flour based breads.

Algerians cook their kesra on clay griddle called tajine , that is often   put on a sort of brazier  or a tabouna.  tabouna and tajines are important cookware equipements  for Algerian families, you’ll find them  in every household across the country, even the busiest working moms who don’t have time to cook their own bread, will keap these two elements  in their kitchen  in order  to make kesra  during  lasy weekends  or for  ramadan dinners.

different types of tajines

Tabouna

clay tajine, put on the tabouna, ready to cook the kesra:

kesra getting cooked on a metal tajine:

on these tajines, various Algerian bread and delicacies are being cooked, such as :

Kesra matlou which is a leavened, spongious bread , excellent for  main courses dishes or dips:

kesra Rakhsis :

more dense than the former, but no less delicious. rakhis contains no, or less quantity of yeast in addition to the presence of oil

the plain type of tajine  is also used to make baghrir , a North African pancake that you can also find in Morocco and the west part of Tunisia

Mssemens/Mhajebs:

Mssemens are  north african crepes, that remind us of the indian parathas. in Algeria, we call the plain version mssemens and the stuffed one mhajebs. the dough is made out of semoulina  which gives them crispiness and character in comparaison to the flour made versions.

mssemens are cooked on a metal griddle called mraa ,placed  on the above tabouna.

Other than  the tajine  cooked breads, we have also oven baked types that we call khobz koucha or khoubz edar . these breads are made of fine semoulina flour, and enriched with oil, eggs, milk,  and /or zest of orange and orange blossom water.

khobz edar is traditionaly  prepared during ceremonies , ramadan , eid lakbir but also for our own pleasure when we feel like eating it.

In addition to the former types of bread which has been prepared by Arab and amazigh women of Algeria for thousands  of years,  the legacy of french bread culture is very evident in modern Algeria.

The French introduced , their well-known loaves of bread, brioches and other types of european like bread during their presence in the country that lasted more than a century .

In all  Algerian bakeries and bread stores, you will not only find the uniform baguette, but also multiform ones , crowns, sesame round loafs, flat loafs,  brioche, sugar breads , placed proudly on the shelves .

NB: Thanks to my friend kooky who provided me with the pictures of tajines and tabouna

Algerian themed dinner for a Turkish friend

Hi/ salam,

I would like to share with you  few pictures of the dinner I prepared for a Turkish colleague of my husband who came here for a 2 weeks visit .so here are few shots of the menu I managed to take, prior to their arrival .

This typically Algerian menu was composed of chorba frik  Algerian soup with cracked wheat)   bourek ,mini meat pies, tuna cones, kesra ( algerian bread)  hmiss  ( grilled pepper salad) torchi senaria ( carrot salad, Algerian style) and chtit’ha bezitoun( chicken with olives, Algerian style)

after dinner I served green mint tea with a couple of Algerien pastries ( makroud and mchewek maasal bil jouz ) and a creme renversee’ ( french cream caramel)

our guest was very generous and brought  fresh  baklawa and  delicious turkish delights, right from Istambul

Enjoy!