The 20 most famous dishes of Algeria
Algerian cooking is as vast as the country, from Kabyle couscous and Aurès chakhchoukha to the pastries of Constantine and Algiers, with Amazigh, Arab, Ottoman and Andalusian flavours.
1Algerian Couscous (Seksu)
Algeria's national dish: steamed couscous with lamb and vegetables in a red broth — or a white one in the…
2Chakhchoukha
Shredded thin flatbread soaked in a spicy chicken or lamb broth with chickpeas — the famous dish of the…
3Rechta
Fine steamed noodle ribbons served with a white broth of chicken, turnip, chickpeas and cinnamon — Algiers'…
4Chorba Frik
Algeria's first Ramadan soup: frik, lamb, tomato and mint, served with bourek.
5Bourek
Crisp dyoul pastry rolls filled with minced meat, egg and cheese — the Ramadan partner of chorba.
6Dolma
Vegetables stuffed with minced meat and rice and cooked in a white chickpea broth — courgette and onion dolma…
7Chtitha Djej
Chicken in a thick, spicy red sauce of garlic, paprika and chickpeas — a much-loved everyday Algerian dish.
8Lham Lahlou
Lamb with prunes, dried apricots, cinnamon and orange blossom — eaten by Algerians on the first day of…
9Mhadjeb
Square folded semolina crêpes filled with tomato, onion and pepper sauce and cooked on a griddle — Algeria's…
10Karantika (Garantita)
A chickpea-flour custard baked with cumin until set and sold on the street in bread with harissa — an Oran…
11Tlitli
Algerian orzo-like pasta cooked in chicken broth with cinnamon and chickpeas, topped with boiled eggs.
12Berkoukes
Large-grain couscous cooked in a meat-and-vegetable broth until it becomes a thick soup — a warming winter…
13Kesra (Semolina Flatbread)
Round semolina flatbread cooked on a clay griddle, the companion of every meal in Algerian homes.
14Algerian Merguez
Spicy lamb sausage with harissa, cumin and garlic, grilled and eaten in bread with chips.
15Mtewem
Meatballs in a thick white garlic and chickpea broth — an Algiers dish known for its bold garlic aroma.
16Makrout
Date-filled semolina diamonds, fried or baked and dipped in honey — among Constantine's oldest sweets.
17Qalb el Louz
Semolina cake filled with almonds and soaked in orange-blossom syrup — the queen of Algerian Ramadan sweets.
18Algerian Baklawa
Many layers of thin pastry filled with almonds and orange blossom, baked and soaked in honey — the wedding…
19Tamina
Toasted semolina with butter and honey, served to celebrate a newborn and on the Mawlid.
20Zlabia
Lacy coils of batter fried and dipped in syrup — Boufarik's zlabia fills the streets during Ramadan.