Ingredients
Semolina dough
- 500 gmedium semolina
- 120 gunsalted butter, melted, or 100 g smen
- ½ tspsalt
- 1 tbspcaster sugar
- 1 tbsporange-flower water
- About 180 ml warm water
Date filling
- 400 gsoft dates (ghars if you can find them), stoned
- 40 gunsalted butter, softened
- 1 tspground cinnamon
- ½ tspground cloves or grated nutmeg
- 1 tbsporange-flower water
To finish
- warm honey, for brushing (optional)
- mint tea, to serve
Directions
- Rub the melted butter into the semolina with your fingertips for 4 to 5 minutes, until every grain is coated and the mixture holds together briefly when squeezed in your fist.
- Add the salt, sugar and orange-flower water, then work in the warm water a little at a time until you have a dough that just comes together; it should be firm and slightly sandy, not smooth like bread dough.
- Cover and rest for 15 minutes so the semolina drinks the water and stops feeling gritty.
- Blend the dates with the softened butter, cinnamon, cloves and orange-flower water to a smooth stiff paste, adding a teaspoon of hot water only if the dates are dry.
- Divide the dough in half. Press one half into a 2 cm deep rectangle about 20 by 25 cm directly on a lightly oiled tray or a sheet of baking paper, patting rather than rolling.
- Spread the date paste over it in an even 5 mm layer, then press the second half of the dough on top and smooth the surface with wet hands.
- Score into diamonds or squares about 5 cm across, cutting right through, then mark each one with the tines of a fork or a traditional wooden stamp.
- Cook the pieces dry on a hot flat griddle or heavy tava over medium-low heat for 4 to 6 minutes a side, until speckled deep gold and firm; there is no oil in the pan, and no oven.
- Cool on a rack, brush with a little warm honey if you like, and serve with mint tea. They keep a week in a tin.
Technique
- The dough is bound by fat, not gluten. Over-kneading or adding too much water makes bradj tough and bready instead of short and crumbly.
- A low griddle heat matters: too hot and the outside chars before the semolina inside is cooked through, leaving a raw, sandy centre.
- Bradj is Kabyle, cooked on the clay tajine plate over embers, and is traditionally made for Yennayer, the Amazigh new year, and for Ramadan.
Substitutions
- No ghars dates: any soft date such as Deglet Nour or Medjool works; add a teaspoon of hot water per 100 g if they are stiff.
- Smen gives the authentic funky, aged-butter note. Ghee is the closest easy substitute, ordinary butter the mildest.
Variations
- Bradj bel loz replaces part of the date paste with ground almonds and sugar.
- Some families deep-fry the squares and dip them in honey, closer to makroud.
- A Setif version scents the filling with dried rosebuds instead of cloves.
History
A Kabyle sweet cooked on a flat clay tajine plate rather than fried; the date paste is scented with cinnamon and orange-blossom water.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bradj?
Bradj is a dessert from Algeria: date-filled semolina squares from Kabylie, griddled dry on a hot plate. A Kabyle sweet cooked on a flat clay tajine plate rather than fried; the date paste is scented with cinnamon and orange-blossom water.
How long does Bradj take to make?
Bradj takes 30 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 16 squares. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Bradj?
Yes, within limits. No ghars dates: any soft date such as Deglet Nour or Medjool works; add a teaspoon of hot water per 100 g if they are stiff. Smen gives the authentic funky, aged-butter note. Ghee is the closest easy substitute, ordinary butter the mildest.
What is the most important thing to get right in Bradj?
Divide the dough in half. Press one half into a 2 cm deep rectangle about 20 by 25 cm directly on a lightly oiled tray or a sheet of baking paper, patting rather than rolling.
