This is a recipe that is in the BBQ Bible by Steven Raichlen that he says “despite the name, this recipe comes from India, not Afghanistan. It’s the specialty of New Delhi’s famous Karim restaurant.” Note: Make sure to allow 4-6 hours to strain yogurt and 4-6 hours to marinade the chicken.
I have played with many versions of this roast chicken. This is so far the perfect blend. An aromatic twist on a classic roast chicken recipe. Perfect accompanied with cous cous made with a chicken stock and a dash of yummy Harissa or your usual roast potatoes and veg.
Rechta (pronunced rish-ta) is a dish comprising of flat noodles and a chicken sauce (Marga bil djedj). Many people buy rechta noodles from the market already made – as many women add to their income by selling them. Rechta noodles keep very well in the freezer. You’ll need a pasta machine for this recipe…
The best way to describe these beans is a spicier version of English baked beans! Haricot beans are cooked in a tomato sauce flavoured with lots of garlic, cumin & paprika. This recipe is for the way I cook it most – the slow cook way – but you can make it easily in a pressure cooker; just reduce the water to a total of 2 litres, add a chicken stock cube & take care with the seasoning. It should only take 45-50 mins in the pressure cooker. If you have any Algerian hot green peppers, this is really nice with 1-2 thrown in half way through! N.B: Time to make doesn’t include overnight soaking of the beans.
The fillings for bourek really are endless, I love the traditional ground lamb & parsley, the prawn & bechemel, potato & cheese……..the list goes on. Here I combined ground chicken with fresh coriander & a little preserved lemon for a delicious fried snack. You can freeze these bourek easily & when you come to cook them, allow to 1/2 thaw before deep frying. You can also shallow fry them in a frying pan about 1″ deep in sunflower or vegetable oil. Bourek are wonderful whenever, but really they are a Ramadan essential in any Algerian household. (If you are new to making bourek & rolls, here is a step by step -in photos- demo for you: http://radiancerecipes.com/chinese-springrolls/)