Algeria | Recipe

Mhadjeb

Algerian semolina flatbreads folded around a spicy tomato, onion, and pepper filling.

Country
Algeria
Region
North Africa
Time
80 min
Serves
8
Level
medium
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Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Use this overview to check the occasion, serving ideas, regional context, and cooking commitment before you begin.

When to cook it

Best for breakfast, street food plates, school snacks, and tea-time meals.. Plan on a medium cook and about 80 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Harissa, mint tea, olives, or a simple cucumber tomato salad.

Regional lane

Algeria national table. A structured Algeria dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs
  • Rushing the rest or fermentation period.
  • Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
  • Adding all seasoning early and forgetting to adjust at the end.
How you know it is ready
  • The bread or batter should smell pleasantly fermented, toasted, or nutty rather than floury.
  • The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
  • Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

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Mhadjeb recipe from Algeria
Mhadjeb finished dish
Chef board

Build the table around Mhadjeb

Harissa, mint tea, olives, or a simple cucumber tomato salad.

Best route from here

Algeria national table

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Servings 8

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Algeria
4 steps 45 min prep 35 min cook 80 min total medium
1
Knead the dough
Mix semolina, flour, salt, and water into a soft dough, then knead until smooth and elastic.
knead 12:00
2
Rest in oil
Divide into balls, coat with oil, cover, and rest until the dough relaxes.
rest 30:00
3
Cook the filling
Cook onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, harissa, paprika, and salt until thick and almost dry.
filling 22:00
4
Fill and griddle
Stretch each dough ball thin, add filling, fold into a square, and cook on a hot griddle until spotted.
griddle 18:00

Some cooks keep the filling strictly tomato and onion, while others add peppers, garlic, minced meat, or cheese.

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