Tamina is a very old Algerian recipe. Traditionally it is served to celebrate the birth of a baby, however many people eat it whenever they get the craving for something seriously sweet! It is most commonly served in small plates & people each have a small spoon with which to eat it, you can of course, serve individual portions. Algerian children go crazy for this so don’t forget a plate for them!
This dish is traditionally cooked in Algeria for eating during Ramadan and on special ocassions. It is hardly ever eaten as a main course, but as a small dish after the main. This recipe freezes well. In my family, it’s only my husband that eats it so I freeze individual portions for him. I tend to play around with the recipe and change the fruit around and add a little extra liquid. This is just one of hundreds of variations of this recipe, I will post a few alternatives later.
‘Zrodiya Mcharmla’ also known as ‘Carottes au vinaigre’ is a very famous carrot dish in Algeria. This is actually delicious & isn’t hard to make…beautiful with roast chicken! For a change to the carrots, you can also use courgette / zucchini or potato in its place.
From the The Great Book of Couscous by Copeland Marks. Algerian comfort food. Use as a side dish or a main dish with a nice salad.
We have a Japanese girl, Tomoko, living with us, and tonight she and I cooked a Japanese dinner for us and her friends. She phoned her mum,Toshiko, in Japan for this, as it’s her favourite recipe, and I wanted to share it here. It’s simple and so good, and Tomoko, who is only 16, did such a good job of cooking this, then translating the recipe to English for me. *The liquid will thicken to a glaze if you are patient. It just takes a bit of time. If you feel your chicken is cooked (and going to overcook) remove it before going on to reduce the liquid. Same thing, if you must use breast meat, remove it (so it doesn’t dry out) and continue reducing the liquid . If you do it this way rather than thickening with cornstarch you will get a richer glaze and not need to add stock or broth instead of the water. It just takes patience. AND NOTE: A glaze is sticky and coats the meat, this is NOT a sauce.