Karantika
Local name : قرنطيطة
An Algerian baked chickpea flour custard, browned on top and creamy within, served in bread with cumin and harissa.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 60 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C and oil a roughly 30 cm baking dish generously.
- Put the chickpea flour in a large bowl and whisk in the water very gradually, so no lumps form.
- Whisk in the olive oil, salt, cumin and pepper. The batter should be completely liquid, like a thin pancake batter.
- Strain the mixture through a fine sieve straight into the dish; this guarantees a silky set.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, without opening the door for the first half hour, until the top is brown and lightly cracked.
- Test by shaking the dish: the centre should barely wobble, like a custard just set.
- Let it settle for 10 minutes, cut into generous squares and serve inside split bread, dusted with cumin and spread with harissa.
Karantika is the emblem of Oran street food, sold from battered metal trays on street corners. A slight wobble in the centre straight from the oven is normal; it firms up as it cools.
