Chakhchoukha

Ingredients

Rougag (galettes)

• 500 gfine semolina
• 150 gplain flour
• 1 tspsalt
• about 400 ml warm water
• oil, for the griddle

Marqa (sauce)

• 800 glamb shoulder, cut into 4 cm pieces
• 4 tbspolive oil
• 1 tbspsmen or ghee
• 2onions, grated
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbsptomato puree
• 400 gtinned chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbspsweet paprika
• 1 tspras el hanout
• 1 tspground caraway
• 1 tspground coriander
• ½ tspcayenne or 1 tsp harissa
• 1cinnamon stick
• 2 tspsalt
• 1.2 litreswater
• 200 gdried chickpeas, soaked overnight
• 2carrots, in chunks
• 1courgette, in chunks
• 1turnip, in chunks

To finish

• 30 gbutter or smen
• chopped coriander

Directions

1. Work the semolina, flour and salt with warm water for 10 minutes into a soft, supple dough, then rest it oiled and covered for 30 minutes.
2. Take a ball the size of an egg, oil your hands and the worktop, and flatten and stretch it to a 25 cm disc, almost transparent. Cook it on a dry hot griddle 1 minute a side, until it is opaque with brown blisters but still flexible. Repeat; you want 8 galettes.
3. Brown the lamb in the oil and smen in a heavy pot over high heat for 8 minutes, then add the onion and garlic and cook 5 minutes until soft.
4. Stir in the tomato puree and all the spices and fry 2 minutes until the fat separates and turns brick red, then add the tomatoes, salt, drained chickpeas and water.
5. Simmer covered for 1 hour, add the carrot, turnip and courgette and cook 25 minutes more, until the meat shreds under a fork and the sauce is thick and deep red. Taste and correct the salt and heat.
6. Tear the galettes by hand into pieces the size of a thumbnail. Hand-tearing is essential; cut squares slide apart in the sauce.
7. Pile the torn bread in a steamer basket over the simmering sauce and steam 15 minutes, uncovered at first so it does not go slimy, until soft and hot through.
8. Toss the steamed pieces in a wide bowl with 2 ladles of sauce and the butter until each piece is stained red, mound it on a platter, top with the meat and vegetables, ladle over more sauce and scatter with coriander. Eat with your hands, from the edge inwards.

Technique

• The bread must be steamed, not boiled or simply soaked. Steaming keeps each shred distinct so it drinks the sauce without turning to porridge.
• Chakhchoukha is the pride of Biskra and the Aurès. There the galettes are made ahead and dried slightly, which makes them tear more cleanly.
• Fry the spices in fat before any liquid goes in. Adding them to water gives a raw, dusty sauce.

Substitutions

• No time for rougag? Use 6 plain flour tortillas or dried msemen, torn and steamed the same way; the texture is softer but the dish still works.
• Tinned chickpeas can replace dried: add them in the last 20 minutes so they do not disintegrate.

Variations

• Chakhchoukha Biskria, the classic, with a chickpea-heavy sauce and no courgette.
• Chakhchoukha Tunisienne, made with a fierier harissa-based sauce and often chicken.

History

From the Aures and Biskra region, where thin rougag flatbread is baked then torn by hand; it is the signature dish of Algeria’s eastern highlands.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chakhchoukha?

Chakhchoukha is a main from Algeria: torn flatbread pieces drenched in spicy tomato-lamb sauce with chickpeas. From the Aures and Biskra region, where thin rougag flatbread is baked then torn by hand; it is the signature dish of Algeria’s eastern highlands.

How long does Chakhchoukha take to make?

Chakhchoukha takes 1 hr of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Chakhchoukha?

Yes, within limits. No time for rougag? Use 6 plain flour tortillas or dried msemen, torn and steamed the same way; the texture is softer but the dish still works. Tinned chickpeas can replace dried: add them in the last 20 minutes so they do not disintegrate.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chakhchoukha?

The bread must be steamed, not boiled or simply soaked. Steaming keeps each shred distinct so it drinks the sauce without turning to porridge.