Kesra Matlou, Algeria’s staple bread……..

I come from a part of the world where bread occupies an important place and carries a mystic , sacred  significance beyond its mere nutritional qualities,

bread ( khoubz in arabic, Aghroum in Amazigh dialects )  symbolises Allah’s sustenance ( rizk)  and is closely connected to  one’s roots….family and cultural identity.

 In Algeria , like in many other parts of the world ,  there is  a long list of proverbs and idiomatic expressions with the term  » khoubz » or kesra, ksour (plural of kesra) » reffering to life’s basic necessities, money and general living conditions…..

 Bread is so highly respected that it’s considered a sin to desecrate it . when finding a piece of a bread in the street,   ,people would   bring it  close to their  lips and forhead as a sort of reverence then put it aside so no one would step on it.

in this outstanding metaphoric passage, , mohamed Dib, one of Algeria’s significant litterature figures of french expression , brillantly describes the deep connection between bread, his love for his mother , and the yearning of past childhood memories….

« Nous vivons dans l’intimite’ du pain.Le notre ne nous etait pas donne’ , je veux dire qu’il ne nous convenait pas qu’il fut fait par d’autres, par un boulanger, un homme,et nous fut remis tout cuit , tout pret, contre de l’argent.Notre pain devait sortir des mains de la mere,pas meme de celle d’une parente……penser au pain nous renvoyait a la mere et inversement ,penser a la mere nous renvoyait au pain .l’un et l’autre etaient si lies que consommer du pain, revenait pour nous a consommer de la mere ,et que, aimer le pain, c’etait aimer la mere »

likewise…in his beautiful poem ( ila ummi /to my mother) palestinian revolution poet Mahmood Darwish depicts his longing for his mother, her  bread, and his lost sweet memories .

أحنُّ إلى خبز أُمي

وقهوة أُمي

ولمسة أُمي..

وتكبرُ فيَّ الطفولةُ

يومًا على صدر يومِ

وأعشَقُ عمرِي لأني

إذا مُتُّ،

أخجل من دمع أُمي

 

 and because I, also long for my mother’s bread and to those childhood happy  souvenirs where I would come back from school and munch a piece of my mother’s homemade kesra with melted butter and apricot jam( Algerian’s favourite jam, lol)  or ramadan long days where she would postpone the making of bread until the evening so we could eat her heavenly matlou  while it’s still warm……

because of all these reasons and many others I’d like to share with you my   modern yet  authentic kesra 

Why authentic ?: because the  recipe respects the true matlou method  that calls for double-stage kneading….the first one with little amount of water so we can thouroughly knead the dough  and the second after adding more water  to get a fluffy result.

Why modern ?: because handling the kesra galette and carring it from the working surface to your tajine/cooking pan is a very delicate step , the dough is so soft and  that you can easily damage the shape…..traditionnaly we would use our bare hands  a a type of  towel that doesn’t stick to the dough  but kouky invented  this clever way of using parchement paper aand solved all the complicated details connected to the kesra cooking. adding milk powder is another  modern twist that make the kesra softer and more delicious.

 Kesra Matlou (,كسرة مطلوع )  it’s a round , leavened,Algerian, semolina  bread , cooked on a typical clay pan called tajine

This is   my  a 60 years  metal tajine,  handed to me by my late grandmother who bought in Algiers during world war II , or  » guerrit lingliz » as she used to say .  I  don’t use it often but I dearly keep it as a souvenir of my grandmother and an erra that no longer exists.

kesra Matlou According to kooky’s recipe(CLICK)

INGREDIENTS:

 500 gr of fine semoulina or ( 300g semoulina and 200f flour)

1tbs of dried yeast

1tbs of sugar

4tbs of milk powder

1tsp of salt

+or – 400ml of warm water ( i used  350ml)

bread seeds of your choice ( optional)

few nabs of butter

oil to greese the baking sheets

PROCEDURE:

-in a large bowl ,Put the semolina (or a mixture of  semolina and flour)

 Add sugar, yeast, salt, , milk powder, and the bread seeds of your choice ( optional)

 -Mix well and slowly add about 300ml of warm water.

 Cover and set aside to  allow the dough to absorb the water .

  knead vigorously by gradually adding the rest of water ( I added 50ml ) . This step helps release the gluten that will be respensible in giving a spongy and light bread. you might use your bread machine during this step.

 Cover with cling film and let rise 1 hour or more depending on the season

 punch  down the dough. divide into 2 or three portions .

 incorporate a nab of softened butter into  each  ball.

 place it on a pre-oiled sheet of parchement paper.

 Let stand for a while.

 -flatten each ball into a large disc.

 Cover and leave in a warm place intil it doubles in size . this might take between 1/2h to more than 1h, depending on the season.

 preheat the clay  tagine  or any other iron skillet /pan of your choice.

 lower  the heat, prior to cooking .

  Gently take the parchement paper and place the kesra directly on the pan/tajine

 Carefully peel the parchement  paper , poke it with a tooth- pick or a knife and rotate now ad then to avoid burning the bread. with a help of a large spatula , flip it to the other side and let it cook until golden brown.

 once the kesra is cooked, brown the edges by exposing  it direcltly to the fire

 Enjoy with any gravy -like dish, dips or just on its own

 

 FRENCH

ingredients :

-500gr de semoule fine (ou 300gr semoule+200gr farine)

-1cà s de levure instantanée

-1cà s de sucre

-4 càs de lait en poudre

-400ml d’ eau tiède (+ ou – )

-1càc de sel

-Mélange de graines spécial pain (sésame, nigelle,fenouil,anis)

– une noix de beurre ou smen

huile

PROCEDURE:

Mettre la semoule ( ou le mélange semoule/farine)dans un grand plat ou dans un pétrin

 Ajouter  le sucre, la levure , le lait en poudre,le mélange de graines spécial pain et le sel

 Mélanger le tout et mouiller petit à petit d’eau tiède, environ 300ml au départ

 Couvrir et laisser reposer un petit moment pour  faire absorber l’eau

 Reprendre la pâte et la pétrir vigoureusement en rajoutant progressivement de l’eau tiède. Cette phase est importante pour libérer tout le gluten qui est dans la pâte et qui fera que la galette soit spongieuse et légère. L’utilisation du pétrin facilite le travail .On obtient au final une pâte  très molle

 Couvrir d’un film transparent et laisser lever 1heure ou plus selon la saison

 Reprendre la pâte, la dégazer délicatement et la partager en 2 ou trois selon qu’on veut de petites ou grandes galettes. Les petites étant plus faciles à manipuler.

 -Enduire chaque morceau de pâte de beurre ramolli et former une boule

 Huiler légèrement une feuille de papier cuisson et poser dessus la boule de pâte

 Laisser reposer un moment pour que la pâte se détende

 Aplatir la boule pour former une galette avec les mains  légèrement huilées

 Couvrir et laisser reposer  selon la saison de 30 à 1 heure, la galette doit doubler de volume en épaisseur

  Chauffer un tajine en terre  ou une lourde poêle en fonte

 Au moment de commencer la cuisson réduire un peu le feu

  Prendre délicatement le papier cuisson avec la galette dessus et  placer dans le tajine, le papier en dessus

 Retirer délicatement le papier cuisson et laisser cuire

 Décoller légèrement la galette , vérifier la cuisson et retourner la pour faire cuire l’autre face. On peut s’aider d’une palette en bois

 Laisser cuire la seconde face, trouer légèrement avec un pic

 Décoller,faire bouger la galette pour uniformiser la cuisson, la galette doit étre bien dorée

 Enlever la première galette du tajine et refaire la même opération pour les autres galettes

 Reprendre la galette avec un torchon propre et faire dorer les bords pour finaliser la cuisson

 Laisser refroidir couvert d’un torchon propre avant de découper et se régaler avec un tajine, un h’miss ou simplement avec du beurre et du miel!

Algerian M’ssemens, Origins ,And Regional Varieties

Algeria has a wide variety of breads  that reflect the diversity of Algerian food and the various cultures that influenced its cuisine , be it Berber/Amazigh…Andalusian, Othoman , French or Pied Noir….

In his book : Histoire de l’Espagne Musulmane: the emminent historian .E–Levi provencal  descrived a typical Andalusian souk :….. »
 » …..le journalier trouvait dans le bazar pour se sustenter, des boutiques de restaurateurs qui preparaient les aliments sous les yeux de la clientele…rotisseurs ( shawaa…) ou des fritures ( kalla’) debitaient ainsi chaque jour , force tetes de moutons, boulettes de viandes, saucisses fortemment relevees….poisson frit et brochettes de viande, de foie, de coeur de mouton, et de graisse, qu’ils faisaient rotir, griller ou frire .on trouvait egalement au souk des fabriquants de beignets frits dans l’huile ( isfanj)des tourtes au fromage blanc ( moudjabanat) de crepes au beurre ( moussamanat ) de gimblettes ( kaak) et mille autres friandises….. »

The study of this litterature, other encyclopedian texts , travellers and chronicals allow us to draw the conclusion that a great deal of every day Algerian dishes go back to the andalusian cuisine thanks to the muslim and jewish refugees who took North African shores as a second home after being chased from the Iberic Peninsular in the XVI century

Mssaman is probably one of the many examples of this influence and constitute an important part of traditional Algerian breakfast or afternoon treats .
Indeed, no thing beats the flaky , crispy multi-layered mssmen, eaten either savoury with tomato -onions mixture or sweet with honey and butter,

when stuffed either with the classical mixture of tomato, onions or otheir modern stuffing , they are called mahjouba or mhajeb…

here are some authentic mhadjebs from Biskra  with the palm tree in the backgroud. LLLLLLLLove them! thanks for sharing Souhila!!!!!

and when cunsumed plain , they are called m’ssamen, Samniat, m’aarek, etc….names that change according to regional lexicon…

PLAIN OR STUFFED M’SSEMENS

Ingredients :

500g fine semoulina ( or half semoulina, half flour for beginners )

1 teaspoon of  salt

water

oil   or a mixture of oil and melted butter for layering and cooking

mix semoulina, salt and enough water to get a dough. knead thourouly  for several minutes.  divide the dough into balls. cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let to rest for few hours, or overnight. the more it rests, the easier it gets rolled. flatten each boll into a big round disc. lightly brush  with oil. fold the disc towards the centre, brush again with oil, bring the opposite sides to the midle until you get a square shape. use an iron skillet to cook both sides of the m’ssemen. the whole process will result into a fluffy and crispy  crepe.

NB: Traditionnaly, we use oil to flatten each ball , but if you are a beginner or  from lazy type  like  « yours truly » you may use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. this technique also  helps reduce the amount of oil  needed to  get a flat and big sheet.

The following are the steps of m’ssemens (plain) or mahjouba /mhadjeb ( stuffed) techniques with pictures gathered from my french blog and my friend kouky’s  who kindly allowed me to use her pictures. ( Thanks, dear !)

For the non proffessionals, a rolling pin can be used to  give an excellent and quick result. in no  time you’ll see your dough ball getting bigger and thiner.

If you are aiming at making a plain m’ssemen, you can carry on oiling and folding you dough .serve with a mixture of butter and bee-honey and a good cup of hot mint tea

 it you prefer the  stuffed version, its time to prepare your favourites filling:

my children also like a nutella version:

on an iron skillet, cook the mssemens on both both sides

serve hot with mint tea, coffee, or cold drinks

Mssemens sheats can also be cooked unfolded then cut into strips to prepare various savoury and sweet  dishes . 

SAVORY VERSIONS :
Chakhchoukhat Biskra : is a ceremonial dish made with meat gravy and mssemens sheats and finds its root in the city of Biskra located in the south east of the country. Biskra is not only famous with its delicious and spicy cuisine but is also the birth place of deglet noor, one of the best date varieties in the world.

Here are some picture of  chakhchoukat biskra making  ,  lent to me by my friend souhila . click here to learn more about this dish  and see the whole recipe

first the sheets of mssemens , also called ftir or rogag are prepared and steemed then served with a spicy gravy made with meat, some vegetables such as potato, dried apricots and some time raisins for a sweet and savoury version.

Here is my aunty ‘s delicious chakhchoukha  , enjoyed last time we went back home.

Mssemen sheets can also be served  with roasted meat instead of bread or rice,

here , kouky served  it with  boumfawar, a traditional steammed then roasted pieces of  lamb:

SWEET VERSIONS  :

Beside the savoury mssemen, there are numerous sweet varieties ,always present during happy events  and  served eitheir  at the end of dinner or   on their  own with a glass of buttermilk .

among the most prominent sweet versions , we can cite the chaoui ziraoui, made with mssemens sheets, date paste as well as butter and honey.

Mchelouech  is another famous sweet mssemens  , typical of Constantine province and its neignouring towns.  , the mssemens  sheats are cooked , cut into strips, and served with a mixture of butter, honey and nuts.

I’m borrowing some of my friend kouky’s photos to illustrate the making of  the dish .click  here to see the detailed recipe

the sheet is cooked then rolled:

the roll is then cut into strips:

then put to steam :

and finally mixed with nuts, butter and honey:

Thanks to my friends kouky and souhila who kindly opened the doors of their blogs and allowed me to take all the pictures I needed for this post.

Hope I made you want prepare m’ssemens at home ):

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!