Ramadan Iftar Recipe | Taste from Algeria

In Algeria, many Muslim women work as well as take care of the household things. During Ramadan, they become even more busy with work, shopping for food and hours spent in the kitchen cooking food for iftar. And usually men in the household do not cook.

Traditions dictate that the iftar menu include, in addition to soup, a dish of white or red meat, some small entrées, and salads plus desserts. This menu requires several hours of preparation and considerable effort. Despite all the hard work, and at times the complaints that the men do not do enough to help them, Algerian women will always take pride in the food they prepare.

One of the famous Algerian food that is prepared for iftar is the Shorba. The Shorba is a type of soup. Here is a tasty Chorba recipe.


Algerian Chorba




Ingredients

675g chicken meat, cubed
1 onion, grated
1/2 courgette (zucchini), grated
1/2 small potato, grated
1/2 celery rib (with leaves), halved
1 carrot, halved
60g dried chick-peas, soaked over night
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup orzo (or any fine pasta for soup)
1 tbsp chopped parsely
1 tsp finely-chopped mint leaves
lemon slices

Method

1) Place the meat, onion, courgette, potato, celery, carrot, tomato paste, chick-peas, cinnamon and paprika in a pot along with 120ml water.

2) Season to taste, then bring to a boil.

3) Cover and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

4) Then add 2l water, bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 45 minutes.

5) Add the paste and cook for a further 10 minutes before adding the parsley and mint.

6) Spoon into bowls and serve garnished with lemon slices.