How to make traditional Algerian pasta /trida ….Fabrication de la pate a trida

As I said in a former post, Algerian cuisine has a big range of typically Algerian  pasta that plays the role of rice in other countries .  these dishes are so numerous that I am going to devote a separate category to detail them..

Algerian pasta dishes are very different from the Italian versions. the pasta is made out of semolina then shaped into numerous  ways according to  different regions .  almost every province has its own speciality.

To prepare these dishes, meat ( chicken or lamb) are simmered in an aromatic broth along chickpeas and some vegetables, pasta is steamed couscous- style, then put to absorb the former broth before being served hot with chickpeas on top, and meat , vegetables  around the outer rim.

Today, I am going to show you how to prepare the trida or mkartfa pasta, a speciality of the eastern part of the country. . hope my photos will contribute in shedding more lights onto this delicious dish .

I’ll post the recipe of the dish in a separate article, in the meantime, you can find it detailed in my french blog (clic)

Ingredients:

300g of fine semolina ( mine was a bit coarse, as it’s difficult to find good quality  semolina, here in Asia)

200g of all purporse flour

a pinch of salt

1 egg

enough water to blend all the above ingredients

Procedure:

Mix the two flours, make a well in the center, incorporate   salt and egg into the well. use your fingertips to blend the mixture together , adding water each time until the dough is well combined and a smooth dough is formed. knead the dough for 7 to 10 km without tearing it, pushing the dough with the palm of your hand each time. cut it into equal sized balls. deep each ball in cornstarch  , cover and let them rest for half a day. the more they rest, the more they will be more easily worked with.

At this time, you need a pasta machine to help you roll the dough as thinly as possible. if not a rolling pin will work just fine.

with a rolling pin, flatten your pasta ball, as thin as possible  making sure it is not wider than the slot of the pasta  machine. pass the dough on the different slots of the machine, starting by the widest  to the smallest one without skipping the numbers to avoid jamming the machine and tearing the pasta. sprinkle every sheet of pasta with cornstarch. . now that your dough is very thin, let it dry for 15 to 20 minutes until the sheets are dry enough to be cut without having the pasta squares stuck to each other .

superpose the pasta sheets, trim the edges and cut them into strips of  4/5cm large, then into small squares.let them dry for one entire day before cooking or freezing them.

Alternatively, if you don’t have a pasta machine,roll your pasta sheet very thinly then cut it into strips like we do for the fresh italian tagliatelle, only that the trida strips should be larger  Cut s  into small squares

 Francais:

300g de semoule fine de bonne qualite’ . 200g de farine,( ou bien 500g de semouline) un oeuf ‘, sel, et eau pour ramaser.

mettre tous les ingrédients ensemble , pétrir ,( ds un robot / une map,) sinon a a la main sans dechirer la pate . partager en boules egales, saupoudrer de maizena couvrir et laisser quelques heures, ou une demi journee’ si vous le pouvez.

etaler les boules au rouleau puis les passer a la machine pour avoir de fines bandes , je ne donne pas les numeros qu’il faut utiliser puisque ca differe selon les marques des machines, mais faite en sorte que votre pate soit fine sans oublier de les saupoudrer de maizena pour qu’elles ne colent pas a la machine.
Laisser secher 15 a20 mn selon le climat. les bandes ne doivent etre ni trop seches pour qu’elles ne se cassent pas, ni trop fraiches sinon vous aurrez des difficultes a separer les cares. saupoudrer les bandes de maizena , les surperposer egaliser la bordure , couper en bandelettes de 4 a 5 cm de largeur puis en petits carres. laisser secher une journee’ sur un drap propre . le lendemain preparer le plat selon la methode traditionnelle.ou bien mettre au congelateur.

si vous n’avez pas de machine, vous pouvez proceder comme la recette des tagliatelle Italiennes, avec quelques details pres. etaler la pate en un fin rouleau , rouler le sur lui meme  , puis couper des bandelettes qui doivent etre plus larges que les taglietelle puis chaque bandes en petits carres

Enjoy/ Beseha

more photos of the same dish :

Ghraiba/ Algerian short bread cookies/ غريبة جزائرية

Ghraiba, ghribiya, ghoriba, ghorayba, koraybades, montecaos…………is a short bread cookie , found in almost all Medditerranean countries.
the flavors for this ghraiba are endless and very versatile……..nuts, spices, cocoa, sesame  seeds and plenty of other interesting ingredients could easily be added to give extra character to the basic recipe.
this cookie can be prepared for special occasions like Eid or as an every day treat.
in Algeria, ghraiba is considered among the basic pillar of the traditional pastry alongside makroud and baklawa.

the  Ghraiba  I ‘m going to share with you today is the North east part of Algeria version,a recipe I  inherited from my late grandmother.
the ingredients are very basic; clarified butter, icing sugar and flour……but in order to reach this melt-in-the mouth , ivory colored  result,  you have to abide by certain rules and techniques:

1-using clarified butter ( smen, samne’, indian ghee ) is not optional , try not to substitute it with butter. smen gives you the authentic ghraiba flavor and this typical ivory color, which you won’t get when  using  butter.
2- too much sugar will harden the ghraiba  (1/2 to 1 measure is more than enough)

3- oven must medium -low preheated ( 160/170°C maximum) .
in the past, when our grandmothers still baked their pastry at their neighborhood bakery, they used to ask the baker  to leave the trays of ghraiba to the very end . after finishing with the multiple rows of makroud and baklawas trays , he would switch off his oven then bake it for 10 mn or so.

Ingredients:

1 measure of smen / clarified butter ( 1 used 1 American cup)
1/2 measure of sifted incing sugar ( 1/2 cup)

vanilla ( a modern option that was not used by our grand mas….)

flour ( I don’t give measure as it depends on the kind of flour you use, and its capacity of absorbtion , but it can be anywhere between 2 to 3 measures of flour.)

Decoration :
a pinch of cinnamon, cocoa, almond halves or flakes, pine nut……ghraiba mold, or the back of a fork to decorate) etc………

1- using the palm of your hands or an electric beaters , bit clarified butter until pale
2- add in the sifted icing sugar and continue to bit for another 5 minutes or so, add the vanilla extract or powder if desired.

3- gradually add in the sifted flour , adding a handful size each time . when it becomes hard to continue using the electric beaters. stop, and use your hands instead, adding each time more flour if required .

for the measure above, my dough needs almost 3 cups of flour, but I always stop somewhere between 2 and 1/2 cups and keep the dough refrigerated for 1/2 hour before shaping and baking my cookies.

this technique helps me get a very soft and melt-in-the mouth ghraiba.

4-roll your dough into small balls or diamond shape. decorate your ghraiba as desired

5- bake in a medium low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. leave it to cool on wire rack before keeping it in an air tight container.
serve with Turkish coffee or green mint tea

enjoy

FRANCAIS:

pour reussir la ghraiba, il faut prendre en consideration certains elements:

1- le choix du smen n’est pas facultif. c’est ce dernier qui donne  ce gout authentique et cette pale couleur propre a la ghraiba , que vous n’obtiendrez pas avec le beurre

2- trop de  sucre fait durcir la ghraiba

3-la ghraiba n’aime pas le four chaud. jadis quand nos grand meres envoyaient leur gateaux au boulanger du quartier, elles lui demandaient de laisser la ghraiba en dernier et commencer par les plateaux de makroud et de baklawa. quand le boulanger  terminait la cuisson de tous ces gateaux. il eteignait le four et mettait la ghraiba a cuire ds le four encore chaud grace au braises fumantes.

Ingredients:

1-      1 mesure de beurre clarifie’ ( smen, ghee indien ) ici j’ai utilise’ une tasse americaine

2-    1/2 mesure de sucre glace tamisee’ ( 1/2 tasse)

3-    vanille ( facultatif, la recette ancestrale n’en contient pas )

4-    assez de farine pour ramasser la pate.

Decoration :
une pincee’ de cannelle, cacao, moules a ghraiba, dos de fourchette , diverses fruits sec ,etc………

commencer par battre le beurre clarifie’ avec la main ou un bateur electrique
ajouter le sucre. continuer a battre pour 5 autres minutes. ajouter la vanille si vous le desirez.

Ajouter la farine graduellement tout en continuant a battre. quand ca devient difficile d’utiliser le bateur. arretez et continuer a travailler a la main.
pour les mesures ci-dessus, j’ai normalement besoin de 3 tasses de farine pour obtenir une pate ferme pouvant etre travailler aisemment, mais je prefere m’arreter quelque part entre 2 et 2et 1/2 de tasse de farine, et garder ma pate au frais pour qu’elle durcisse grace au froid et non pas avec plus de farine. avec cette technique, on obtient une delicieuse et tres fondante ghraiba

retirer la pate de ghraiba du refregerateur. rouler la en petite boules en en losanges, decorer au choix  . et faite cuire ds un four moderemment chaud (( 160/170°C maximum) pendant 10 a 15 mn voire un peu plus , dependemment de votre four. la ghraiba doit rester pale et fragile au toucher. laisser completement refroidir avant de la transferer dans une boite hermetique.
servir avec une tasse de cafe’ turc ou du the’ a la menthe.

beseha!