Tlitli

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 300 gminced beef or lamb
• 1 slicestale bread, soaked in milk and squeezed
• 1egg
• 2garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1 handfulparsley, chopped
• salt and pepper

Sauce

• 6chicken thighs, skin removed
• 3 tbspsmen or 50 g butter
• 2 tbspsunflower oil
• 2onions, grated
• 200 gcooked chickpeas
• 1cinnamon stick
• 1 tspwhite pepper
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1.5 litreswater
• salt

Pasta and finish

• 500 gtlitli, the rice-shaped Constantine pasta, or orzo
• 3 tbspbutter
• 2eggs, beaten
• 50 ggrated hard cheese (optional)
• ground cinnamon, for dusting

Directions

1. Mix the minced meat with the squeezed bread, egg, garlic, cinnamon, parsley, salt and pepper, roll into small balls the size of a hazelnut and chill them.
2. Melt the smen with the oil in a wide heavy pot over medium-low heat, add the chicken and grated onions and sweat for 10 minutes without browning, since the Constantine tlitli is a white dish.
3. Add the white pepper, ground cinnamon and cinnamon stick, then the water and chickpeas, bring to a bare simmer, skim carefully and cook covered for 35 minutes.
4. Drop in the meatballs and poach for a further 15 minutes without stirring, then lift the chicken and meatballs out and keep them warm.
5. Measure the broth: you want about 1.2 litres of well-seasoned, faintly cloudy liquid. Reduce it or top it up with hot water as needed.
6. Toast the tlitli in the butter in a wide pan over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until the grains smell nutty and turn pale gold; this stops them going gluey.
7. Pour in the hot broth, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is just tender and has absorbed most of the liquid but is still visibly loose.
8. Fold through half the beaten egg off the heat so it sets in threads and binds the grains, then tip the pasta into a buttered ovenproof dish.
9. Arrange the chicken and meatballs on top, pour over the last ladle of broth, brush the remaining beaten egg over the surface and scatter with the cheese if using.
10. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is set and lightly golden and the edges bubble, then dust with cinnamon and serve straight from the dish.

Technique

• Tlitli is both the name of the dish and of the pasta, a tiny rice or tongue-shaped semolina grain traditionally rolled by hand in Constantine; orzo is the closest supermarket match.
• Toasting the pasta in butter before it meets liquid is what keeps the grains separate. Skip it and the dish turns into a paste.
• Judge the liquid generously. Tlitli keeps absorbing broth in the oven, and a dish that looks slightly too wet going in will be right coming out.
• It is a wedding and celebration dish in Constantine, cooked in big trays and finished in the baker’s oven, which is why the browned egg-glazed top matters.

Substitutions

• No tlitli pasta: orzo, risoni or broken vermicelli all work, adjusting the simmering time to the packet.
• Smen can be replaced by butter, though the aged note is part of the flavour Constantine cooks expect.

Variations

• A red tlitli builds the sauce on tomato puree and paprika, common in Algiers.
• Some families fold blanched broad beans or peas through the pasta.
• A luxurious wedding version tops the dish with fried almonds and hard-boiled egg halves.

History

The signature dish of Constantine’s old families, made from tiny hand-shaped pasta once rolled by the household’s women before a wedding.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tlitli?

Tlitli is a main from Algeria: rice-shaped pasta baked with chicken, chickpeas and cinnamon; a Constantine wedding dish. The signature dish of Constantine’s old families, made from tiny hand-shaped pasta once rolled by the household’s women before a wedding.

How long does Tlitli take to make?

Tlitli takes 45 min of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Tlitli?

Yes, within limits. No tlitli pasta: orzo, risoni or broken vermicelli all work, adjusting the simmering time to the packet. Smen can be replaced by butter, though the aged note is part of the flavour Constantine cooks expect.

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

It is a wedding and celebration dish in Constantine, cooked in big trays and finished in the baker’s oven, which is why the browned egg-glazed top matters.