Mahjouba, a vegetarian recipe from Algeria

Name: Mahjouba
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Algeria
Ingredients: 400 g fine semolina; 100 g plain flour; 1 tsp salt; 300 ml warm water; 120 ml olive oil; 800 g ripe tomatoes, grated; 3 onions, chopped; 2 garlic cloves; 1 tbsp tomato purée; 1 tsp paprika; ½ tsp mild chilli; Salt and pepper

Method

Mix the semolina, flour and salt. Add the water bit by bit and work the dough for 10 minutes, until it turns supple and stops sticking.
Divide into 8 balls, coat them in oil and rest them for 30 minutes under cling film. The rest hydrates the semolina.
Cook the onions in 3 tbsp of the oil for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes and purée.
Season with the paprika and chilli, then reduce for 20 minutes to a thick filling with no free liquid. Let it cool.
On an oiled surface, flatten a ball with your palm then stretch it with your fingertips into a translucent 35 cm square.
Spoon 2 tbsp of filling into the middle and fold the four sides over to close it.
Cook on a hot oiled griddle for 3 minutes a side, until golden blisters form. Serve hot.

The stretch works once the dough has rested under oil: the semolina grains swell and the gluten relaxes. If it tears, give it another 10 minutes rather than forcing it.

The techniques this recipe uses

Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.
Reduce
Uncovered, water leaves and flavour concentrates. It is done when the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

Frequently asked questions

My dough tears as I stretch it. What now?

It has not rested long enough. Those thirty minutes under oil hydrate the semolina grains and relax the gluten; without that the dough fights back and splits. Do not force it: cover the ball again for ten more minutes, then work outward from the centre with well-oiled fingers.

Why must the filling be dry before folding?

A juicy filling soaks through dough stretched almost to transparency, and the pancake sticks to the griddle and tears. The twenty minutes of reducing should drive off all free liquid, and the filling needs to cool before it goes on.

Can I prepare mahjouba ahead?

You can make the filling the day before and keep it chilled, which makes the day itself much easier. Fold and cook at the last minute, though: an unfilled raw parcel does not wait well, and once cooked it quickly loses its blistered surface and suppleness.

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Mahjouba

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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